Apartment 7
by Raven and Writing Desks
Summary: Sakura's going into her sophomore year at university, this means finally moving out of her dorm and into an apartment. But perhaps the med student is in over her head when she discovers she has two male roommates and what are these rumors that her apartment is haunted? Lots of crazy college fun is bound to take place! AU SasuSaku and possibly slight NaruSaku, sort of.
1. Neighbors

**Apartment 7**

Neighbors

"Here's your lease papers and your key." The shady looking man hands over the silver piece of metal as well as a manila envelope. Smooth hands accept the cold piece of metal eagerly, fingers exploring the edges and indentations.

"Oh, I guess I should mention that you'll have two roommates, they should be arriving tomorrow." The man's voice is slightly muffled by the bandana he wears wrapped around his mouth. The bandana itself isn't bad, but in combination with the eye patch, it just screams 'Sketchy: Steer Clear!'.

Sakura smiles to herself. As long as she was out of her dormitory, she didn't care. She clutched the key to her chest and practically skips away from her landlord. She walks towards the parking lot where her white Camry sits and grabs the first of the boxes containing her things.

Big green eyes admire the complex. It was nothing special, a couple of two story brown buildings consisting of breezeways and outdoor stairwells. The only other feature of the complex was a small pool and an old school basketball court with rims that are missing nets. But now it was _her_ apartment complex with _her _apartment.

She smiles and heads towards the center building, but before she reaches it a white puppy, with brown ears and squinty eyes, confronts her.

"Oh! Well hi there!" She sets down the box and kneels towards the puppy. "Can I pet you?" Sakura slowly lifts her hand up to the dog's nose to let it sniff her. Seeming to like what he smells, the dog leans into her outstretched palm. It happily wags its tail and lets out a small yip when Sakura begins scratching his ears.

"Where's your owner little guy?" After letting out another bark, the puppy jumps into Sakura's chest causing her to tumble backwards to the ground.

"Akamaru!" The puppy jumps off and runs towards a boy with spikey brown hair, walking towards them. "Whoa, are you okay?" the boy says when he spots Sakura sprawled out on the ground. He offers a hand to help her up.

"Thanks, I'm fine." She looks down at her red dress and notices that it now has small, muddy paw prints decorating it.

"I'm really sorry about that, I'll pay for the dry-cleaning and everything."

Now that she's off the ground Sakura gets a good look at the boy. He wears khaki shorts with blue sandals and, despite the hot summer weather, a blue hooded sweatshirt.

"It's totally cool, I love dogs." Sakura says with a charming smile. "I'm Sakura, and I'm guessing you're one of my new neighbors?" Sakura starts to pick up the moving box.

"Kiba." He smiles revealing abnormally pointed canines. "Let me help you with that." Kiba relieves her of the awkward square. "Which apartment are you?"

Sakura grabs the envelope from the ground and opens it. Reading the first paper inside, she replies "Seven."

"Oh, you got number seven?" Kiba asks, his voice hinting that she's missing a valuable piece of information.

"Yeah… why?" The pink haired girl replies apprehensively. She follows the boy as he leads her to the center building.

"Nothing! Just people say that it's haunted." Kiba pauses for dramatic affect. "The tenants of that apartment usually only stay for about a month, two months tops."

"Well you don't have to worry about me leaving anytime soon, that dodgy landlord made me sign a year long contract." Sakura mutters sourly.

"Kakashi? Yeah... he's a weird one." They walk slowly down the breezeway. "One time I caught him talking to his dog."

"That's not _that_ weird." Sakura replies eyeing the puppy that looks like it's trying to trip Kiba up.

"Yeah, except he was debating politics with it. Actually, debating isn't the right word. He was flat out yelling at the dog to agree with his views of genetic engineering."

Sakura lets out a chuckle, but Kiba's face is dead serious.

"I'm thinking he's on drugs, why else cover your face up like that all the time?" he states before stopping in front of the last door on the right. "Well, here's lucky number seven."

Sakura glances at the paint-peeling wood with an off kilter, backwards seven in the center of it.

"Even though it's haunted, it's a good apartment. I mean you have the pool right out here." Sure enough, looking left Sakura sees the small pool where a game of "chicken" is currently taking place. Bikini clad college girls occupy almost all of the surrounding lounge chairs and cheer on the competitors.

"Wow, do all of them go to Konoha University?" Sakura says, not spotting anybody that looks over 25 years old.

"Pretty much, I don't think Kakashi rents to anybody older than him. He's a closet pervert." Kiba shrugs nearly dropping the box.

Sakura blinks away from the pool. "Oh! Sorry, you probably have other things to do. Let me just unlock the door."

"No problem," Sakura pushes the door open and Kiba continues speaking. "I'm actually not doing anything all day. Want me to help you finish carrying all your boxes?"

Sakura is silent as she gets her first look inside her apartment. To the right is a small room with a washer and dryer inside. _No Laundromat for me anymore. _She thinks happily. Further down the hallway on the right side is an open kitchen with a bar that partly takes over the living room. On the opposite side of the room is a sliding glass door with only a strip of grass in front of the porch before it reaches the parking lot next to the pool. A brown couch, looking a little worse for wear, leans against the wall opposite from a small table with an even smaller TV on top of it.

The living room causes the apartment to have a U shape which then leads to another hallway. On opposite sides of the hallway are two bathrooms. _Well that could lead to an awkward situation. _

Another door on the right side of the hallway opens up into a little room containing a petite bed (which should really be called a cot). A large window looks out at the parking lot and a tiny bedside table completes the minimum furniture.

There's one final door at the end of the hallway. Sakura walks up to it and jiggles the knob so it opens. It reveals a room is basically the same as the last one except it's a little bigger and has a window seat that looks into the breezeway. Seeing the window seat, she instantly claims this room as her own.

"So do you want me to?" Kiba asks standing back in the living room.

"Want you to what?" Sakura replies, confused.

"Help you carry the rest of your boxes." He repeats.

"Oh! Yeah! That'd be great!"

As the rest of the day went by, the two began to like each other more and more. Sakura finds out that Kiba's studying veterinarian sciences and becomes ecstatic. "I'm pre-med! So it's kinda the same!" She jumps up and down, pink hair flying with her.

"Yeah, sorta." Kiba half-heartedly agrees. "Mind if I put on some music?"

"Not at all," Sakura replies as she sets a box down on the kitchen counter.

Kiba produces an iPod and some portable speakers from his pocket. He assembles them together and soon enough sweet music starts spilling from the speakers.

"Oh my gosh! You like Breathe Carolina?" Sakura skipps giddily from her spot near the couch, over to where Kiba stands.

"Of course!" Kiba says while taking one of her hands and making her twirl.

The two go on for about an hour: talking, dancing, unpacking, and badly singing along with the words. Akamaru had made himself comfortable on the couch and watched the whole performance.

Once all of the boxes are unpacked the two stand back and admire their work.

"Wow! We make a good team!" Sakura says with a bright smile.

"Yeah we do!" Kiba pauses and nervously ruffles his hair. "So…uh… there's a party at this one girl's apartment tonight. Would you maybe like to go… with me?" He gives a shy smile, but is quick to add, "It'd be a great way to meet more of the people here."

Sakura looks up at the boy and smiles at his shyness. "That sounds like a lot of fun." Kiba's eyes light up when he realizes that she just said 'yes'.

"Really?... I mean… cool…" He quickly regains his composure. "I'll swing by at 8?" He asks as if checking for reassurance.

"8 sounds good." Sakura walks him to the door.

"Okay," Another smile from the brown haired boy. "I'll see ya then!"

Sakura shuts the door behind Kiba and saunters over to the fridge. Opening it up and seeing nothing but empty white shelves, she decides to go to the grocery store. However, when her phone buzzes and "_New message from: Dad_" is displayed on the screen she knows that the much needed shopping trip will have to wait until tomorrow.

**Are you settled? Call me. **

Sakura sighs and presses the "Call Contact" button. She had moved out last year in order to start her freshman year of college. However, during the last month of school her mom died, so she moved back home over the summer in order to take care of her father. Realizing that she couldn't stay home and attend her sophomore year classes, her father had insisted she get an apartment close to school. Even though it was his idea, he still didn't like it. Sakura still worries about him a lot – he just lost his wife of 21 years – so she made a promise to herself that she would call him as often as possible.

The phone only gets half of a ring in before she hears the _click_ that signals that her father answered.

"Hi honey. How is everything?" Her dad's voice is cheerful, like always.

"It's good, I just finished unpacking."

"Really? That was fast."

"Yeah, I got help from a neighbor." She says while walking to her newly claimed room.

"You already made a friend? That's great honey!"

"Yeah, his dog kind of ran into me." She lies down on the bed (cot).

"His? Now Sakura, you're in med school. You don't have time for boys." Sakura rolls her eyes at her father's dubious tone.

"It's fine dad, he's just a friend." She glances at the family photo on her bed. "How are you doing?"

"Don't try to change the subject." Her father's tone is stern, but she knows he's not completely serious. He never really was the hard-ass that he claims to be. Sakura can't help but chuckle when she thinks back to how whenever she would doing something mischievous as a child her father would yell as a show for her mother, but then turn around buy her ice cream out of guilt.

Her eyes start to water at the memory of her mother. "Seriously Dad, how are you?"

"I'm holding up," She can almost see the fake smile masking the pain. He had worn it all summer and it worried her more than if he would just flat out cry.

They talk for a little while longer about her classes this semester and how they were going to be more difficult. Eventually she glances at the clock.

"Wow, it's 7:15 already." Sakura states.

"Yeah, I better let you go. You're probably going partying or something." He replies, catching her hint.

"Yeah… partying…" Sakura laughs nervously knowing that her father didn't approve of drinking.

"Sakura..." The serious parental tone was back.

"Bye Daddy! Love you!" Sakura says quickly before hanging up.

* * *

Half an hour later, Sakura was putting the final touches on her hair. She was wearing a casual strapless red dress with silver flip-flops. She had curled her long pink locks and pinned her fringe back with a sparkly clip. Sakura had never been one to pile on the make up, but she had used some sage colored eye shadow to accentuate her emerald eyes.

Satisfied with how she looked, she walked towards to kitchen, her pink curls bouncing all the way. She pours herself a glass of water and sits at the table, reading a news article about a drug ring bust.

A couple minutes later, there's a knock on the door. Opting out the need for a purse, she grabs her key ring – now with her new apartment key on it – and heads towards the door. When she opens it, Kiba stands there in a black button up shirt and khakis.

"Wow…uh… you look amazing!" He says with a slight blush.

"Thanks, you look pretty dapper yourself." Lacing her arm through his they walk together through the apartment complex.

"So who's the host of this party?" Sakura asks.

"Her name's Tenten," Kiba states. "She's cool, but she gets really jealous if you go near her boyfriend, Neji." He gives out a small chuckle. "She even yelled at _me_ one time for apparently 'getting too friendly' with him." Sakura laughs at his statement, but Kiba's face sobers. "No, I'm serious. She almost threw a knife at me."

They arrive at a door with the number 13 emblazoned on it. Music blares from within along with the shouts of university students with too much alcohol in their system.

Kiba opens the door and motions for Sakura to enter before him. She steps in the apartment to see multiple young people scattered everywhere; some are dancing, some are hanging around talking, but the majority is crowded around a Ping-Pong table where what appears to be a very intense game of Beer-Pong is taking place.

Kiba gestures to a girl whose blonde hair is tied up into four spikey ponytails. "That's Temari. She's cool, but her brothers are kind of crazy." Kiba leads Sakura over to her.

"Hey Temari, this is Sakura. She just moved into apartment 7." Temari smiles at Sakura, revealing her perfect teeth.

"Apartment 7, huh?" She taps her index finger on her chin. "Isn't that the haunted place?"

"Thanks what I've been told." Sakura lets out a nervous chuckle. "Though Kakashi failed to mention that detail when he told me about it."

Temari lets out a joyful laugh. "Yeah that guy is kind of a sleaze ball. Have you caught a glimpse of his hentai-stash yet?" When Sakura shakes her head Temari continues speaking. "It's massive."

Sakura directs her attention to the Ping-Pong table where a boy with long dark hair and seemingly opaque eyes is tossing a white ball into a red solo cup situated in front of a redhead man who appears to be wearing eye-liner.

"So who's winning?" Kiba asks.

"Neji's been pulling a tough game, but Gaara's in the lead by one cup." Temari adds.

"I don't want to be around when either of them lose." Kiba says with a small shudder.

"Hey! Kiba!" A girl with two buns on the top of her head walks over and gives Kiba a hug.

"Hey Tenten, this is Sakura. She just moved in." Tenten gives Sakura a once over before pulling her into a hug too.

"Hi! Welcome! What's your major?" Tenten asks her speech sluggish under the influence of alcohol.

"I'm pre-med."

"Wow! Really? You must be smart!" Without another word, the tipsy girl skips off to talk to somebody else.

"She seems… nice?" Sakura says earning a laugh from both Temari and Kiba.

"Yeah, that girl can not hold her liquor." Temari says with a slight eye roll. Suddenly, loud cheering erupts from the crowd and the red head irritably stomps away from the table.

"Looks like Neji won." Kiba states.

"I better go get my brother before he causes any problems." Temari says and with a quick 'it was nice to meet you' she runs off after the angry boy.

"Now my youthful friends! Who wants to go against our reigning beer pong champion?" A boy with a bowl haircut stands on the table yelling and throwing punches in the air.

Sakura is going to inquire about the overly enthusiastic college student when Kiba grabs her arm and raises it in the air. "The new girl wants a go!"

Sakura tries to pull her hand out of his grasps and mutter a 'no thank you', but Temari, now on the other side of the room yells. "Yeah! Give the new girl a shot!"

Several others in the room start chanting "New girl! New girl!" when, the boy with the bad hairstyle jumps off the table and lands next to Sakura. "Why, you look so youthful! What's your name, beautiful flower?"

"Sakura." She replies, her face starting to heat up from all of the attention.

"Even your name is youthful!" He exclaims and Sakura could've sworn that she saw his pupils turn into hearts. The boy grabs her hand and leads her to the end of the table where Gaara had been standing earlier.

"Do you know how to play?" The boy, Neji, standing opposite of her asks as he shakes his luscious hair.

"Of course." Sakura says still a little unnerved that she got roped into this.

"Good, so there's no excuse when you lose." He states softly while tossing the Ping-Pong ball up in the air.

"I wouldn't be so sure. I did attend quite a few high school parties." Sakura responds trying to defend her honor.

With a slight scoff he tosses her the ball. "Ladies first."

Sakura grins and gently throws the white orb. She's rewarded with a light _plunk_, informing her that it had just landed in the front, liquid-filled cup.

Neji frowns and downs its contents. "Beginners luck."

He throws the ball and it smoothly lands in one of her cups. Sakura drinks the warm liquid and takes her turn. The ball hits its target again.

"I already told you," She says as smug as Neji was only moments ago. "I'm not a beginner."

They go for a couple more turns, neither one missing a cup, but both were looking a little bit unsteady on their feet. Eventually, both only have one more cup remaining in front of them.

The crowd from before has gotten larger in the anticipation that Neji might actually get beat. People are yelling and placing bets.

_I've got this_. Sakura thinks to herself, but the world is tilting an awful lot. She throws the ball and watches as it hits the rim of the cup. Slowly it bounces and hits the opposite side of the cup. The room grows hushed and it seems as if things are moving in slow motion. The ball circles the rim and ends in the beer when a small _plop_.

Everybody starts cheering as Neji bitterly chugs the drink. Excitement grows as he sets up to throw the ball. People are clapping widely and a drumroll has stared from somewhere within the apartment. The sphere soars through the air and bounces off the rim of the cup and onto the floor.

Everybody goes silent, their eyes bugging out of their heads. Neji angry storms over to where Sakura is standing. Her emerald eyes go big in fear as the intimidating man looks down on her.

He raises a hand and for a moment Sakura can't even move.

_Oh my god, he's going to hit me!_

His hand comes down and rests on her shoulder. He smirks at her slightly and utters a "Congratulations."

Sakura's vocal cords are frozen as her mind registers that he didn't actually hit her. Neji leans in closer and says quietly, "It will not happen again".

By now the crowd has resumed with their drunken partying and are paying little attention to the Beer-Pongers. Sakura finally finds her voice and is about to contradict Neji's last statement when in a blur of movement something silver lodges itself in the table between where her middle and ring finger were sprawled.

"Back away from my man, bitch!" A furious Tenten runs over and starts drunkenly yelling at Sakura about how Neji was hers. The pearl-eyed boy grabs her waist from behind and pulls her away.

"Don't worry about her, she won't remember any of this tomorrow." Neji states as he carries the intoxicated girl elsewhere.

"Wow, she must have been really drunk, otherwise that knife would have hit your hand." Kiba says as he swings an arm around a slightly shaken Sakura. "Come on, I'm gonna introduce you to more of the residents."

The two hang out at the party for a couple more hours: dancing, drinking, and having a good time. Eventually Kiba asks Sakura if she's ready to go home. She nods and says goodbye to the people around her, most of which had been relaying her Beer-Pong performance back to her.

The pink haired girl and the brown-haired boy both stumble their way across the apartment complex. Reaching her door Sakura fumbles with her keys slightly. "Thanks for inviting me Kiba, I really appreciate it."

Kiba smiles, gives her a hug and steps back. "First day and you've already made yourself a legend. Not too shabby." They say their adieus and Kiba takes his leave.

Sakura walks into the apartment and shuts the door behind her. She slips off her shoes and makes her way to her new room. Changing into some pajamas, she lies in bed and shuts her eyes ready for some much needed sleep.

She looses consciousness for only five minutes before a banging noise jolts her from her sleep. Her eyes snap open and her hands instantly reach for the pepper spray located in her purse. Now armed with the small pink container, the girl opens her bedroom door.

She walks down the small hallway and is horrified when she hears the banging again, this time it's coming from one of the bathrooms. Very cautiously she opens the door and flips on the lights, aiming her pepper spray in the process. After her eyes adjust to the sudden brightness, Sakura is stunned/relieved to see the bathroom empty.

She pulls back the shower curtain only to find more emptiness. Sighing slightly she shuts off the lights and closes the bathroom door. _Drinking on my first night alone in a new place probably wasn't the best idea. _She makes it two steps towards her bedroom before the shower in the room she had just inspected turns on.

Screaming all the way, a very horrified Sakura runs to her room and slams the door shut behind her. She searches in her purse for her cell phone and punches in the number of the only person nearby.

"Hello?" A very sleepy sounding Kiba answers.

"Kiba! Help me there's a ghost in my apartment!" She's practically in hysterics as she yells into the little pink phone.

"Sakura? Are you okay?" His voice sounds more alert now.

"No! There's a fucking ghost trying to kill me and I'm all alone!" She realizes she's panicking, but her alcohol-riddled brain can't think of any logical solutions.

"Hang on, I'm heading over there now. Stay on the phone." Sakura relaxes slightly before the banging from before is heard again.

Acting like a seven year-old, Sakura ducks under her bed sheets and brings the cellphone even closer to her ear.

"Okay, I'm outside your door, come out here and let me in." Kiba says calmly.

"Are you crazy? I'm not going back in that hallway!"

"What do you want me to do then, bust down the door?" Sakura considers this for a moment before she eyes her window.

"Come around to my window." She says.

"Are you seriously going to crawl out of your window?" He tone sounds belittling, but Sakura couldn't care less.

"Yes that's exactly what I'm going to do." She hears Kiba sigh, but not a minute later he's knocking on the glass. Sakura springs out of her bed and pulls the window open. She eagerly shimmies out of it and lands on the grass ass-first. Akamaru immediately comes forward to lick her nose comfortingly.

"So, I take it you want to crash with me tonight?" Kiba asks helping her to her feet for the second time that day.

"If you wouldn't mind." She looks up at him and smiles.

* * *

Five minutes later they enter Kiba's apartment.

"I'll just crash on the couch," Sakura says as she moves to the welcoming piece of furniture.

"No way," Kiba lowers his tone to a whisper. "My roommate's kinda a freak, you can take my room and I'll take the couch." Sakura mutters a thank you and Kiba leads her down a hallway to a slightly messy room that reeks of old pizza.

He sets Sakura up in his bed and turns to leave.

"Thank you!" Sakura calls out as Akamaru jumps up to share the bed with her.

_So first night in my own apartment was a failure… oh well, at least I get to meet my roommates tomorrow. _

Sakura ponders what the girls will be like as she drifts off to sleep.

* * *

**A/N: I'm trying to write longer chapters. What do you think?**

**This is not a KibaSaku fic! The rest of team 7 will be coming in shortly, very shortly. **

**As for next chapter I have two words: Pepper Spray! Laughs evilly Those poor boys won't know what hit them! **

**Please review!**


	2. Roommates

**A/N: I love writing this story! I'm having so much fun with it, hopefully that means faster updates. Here ya are my friends!**

** I apologize in advance for any spelling/grammar mistakes. I proof-read this chapter under extreme pressure.**

* * *

**Apartment 7**

Roommates

Sakura awakes to the feeling of somebody tickling her face. The soft touches start on her forehead and travel down her nose.

"Stop it." She's still in between being awake and asleep so she's not quite sure whom she's addressing, then the memories of last night's party drifts into her mind. And a smile appears on her face when she thinks of how she dominated the Beer-Pong competition.

The tickling has started to travel back up her nose and Sakura now finds it annoying. Opening her eyes to confront the offender, she comes face to face with a hairy spider the size of a baseball.

She lets out a very girlish screech and flings to spider from her face to the opposite side of the room. Akamaru, who was sleeping at the foot of the bed, runs over to where the offending creature landed and starts barking at it.

The door to the room bursts open and a frantic Kiba rushes in, armed with a frying pan, which he's swinging around like a madman.

"What is it? What's wrong?" He yells, scanning the room with his canine-like eyes. Sakura solution to the situation is jumping up and down on the bed, pointing at the ground where the spider had landed, and repeatedly yelling 'Kill it! Kill it!'

Kiba walks over to the spider that, thanks to Akamaru, is lying on its back with its twiggy legs twitching wildly. "Oh geez." He says in relief as he lowers his makeshift weapon. "Shino! Terence got into my room again!" Kiba yells as he flips the spider over with a sock-clad foot.

Sakura has reduced herself to sitting on the bed wrapped up in Kiba's comforter while staring at her new friend in somewhat disgust. Another boy, as shady looking as Kakashi, enters the room. The collar of his jacket is pulled up to cover his mouth and nose, and a pair of sunglasses makes it impossible to see his eyes. Murmuring under his breath, the strange looking boy picks the spider up from the floor and exits the room.

"That's my roommate, Shino." Kiba tells a very confused Sakura. "He's decent, but he collects bugs."

"Terence?" She asks referring to Kiba's earlier comment.

"Terence the Tarantula." He states matter-of-factly. "We also have Julia the June bug, Bert the beetle and about fifty others running around. " Sakura lets out a shudder and silently prays that none of her roommates have pets.

"So…" Kiba starts as he holds up the cooking-ware still in his hand. "Want some breakfast?"

Sakura shakes head and realizes that she has to go back to the "haunted" apartment. "I need to get back to my apartment to check on everything."

"Want me to come with you?" Kiba asks genuinely.

"That's okay, I need to face this on my own." Sakura replies, not wanting to be more of a bother to her new friend.

"Okay, but you know those noises were probably just the alcohol." He offers helpfully.

"Yeah, probably." Sakura stands up and the two start walking to the front door. "Thanks for letting me crash here, sorry for making you sleep on the couch."

"No problem, text me if you have any more troubles." Sakura slips out the front door after giving Kiba a quick hug.

* * *

Minutes later Sakura arrives back at her apartment. She stands in the breezeway and glares at the askew seven. Taking a soothing breath, she inserts her key in the lock to open the front door. Startlingly, it's already unlocked. Warning bells go off in Sakura's head and she reaches in her purse for the pink canister of pepper spray that her father gave her when she first moved out.

Now armed and dangerous, Sakura slowly turns the doorknob. Instantly, she's put on alert when she hears cabinets in the kitchen opening. Staying on her tiptoes Sakura creeps along the corridor with her back against the wall.

A glimpse of movement passes through her vision. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. With a scream, better classified as a battle cry, Sakura blindly sprays the hazardous liquid in the hopes of hitting the intruder. She's rewarded with a _thump_ that sounds like a body hitting the ground accompanied with cries of pain.

"Ouch! What the fuck! It burns!" A rough voice, that is most definitely male, yells.

Sakura opens her eyes to see a boy about her age rolling on the floor, his palms pressing into his eyes. Suddenly, she senses another presence next to her. Without a second thought, Sakura aims the pepper spray again.

"What are you doing in my house?" She asks the new arrival, another boy her age with spikey black hair and dark eyes.

"Hn, your house?" He says emotionlessly, over the cries of his injured friend.

"Uh… yeah! I just moved in yesterday. Who are you?" Sakura replies, getting angry.

"I'm Sasuke, and I see you've already met the Dobe, Naruto." He gestures to the screaming blonde boy clad in boxers and an orange t-shirt. "We just moved in today."

The boy on the ground still manages to yell "Teme!" through the more than obvious pain he's in. Sakura's eyes visibly widen as realization hits her.

"Oh my god. I just pepper sprayed my new roommate." She says in disbelief. She drops to the ground on her knees as she attempts to examine the still wriggling figure. "I am so sorry!" She awkwardly hugs the brightly dressed boy and starts proclaiming over and over again about how she didn't mean to and how she thought he was a ghost or a pervert.

The Sasuke leans against the wall and observes. It was amusing sight, the pink haired girl nearly in hysterics and his best friend crying about pain worse than the time he got beat up because his uncle suggested it was a good idea to peek in the woman's locker room.

"Why would he have been a ghost?" Sasuke asks, once the constant crying starts to get on his nerves.

"This place is haunted! Haven't you heard any strange noises?" She replies trying to get the blonde boy to his feet.

"No." Sasuke says.

"We just got here an hour ago. I'm Naruto by the way." The injured boy adds through gritted teeth. Sasuke pushes off the wall and jangles a set of keys in his hand.

"Come on, I'll drive to the hospital." He says while moving past the struggling couple to the door.

* * *

The three wait in a small hospital room; Naruto sits on the small bed holding a wet towel to his eyes, Sasuke leans against a wall with an annoyed look on his face, and Sakura passes back and forth muttering apologizes.

"I'm really sorry." She says for the hundredth time. Sasuke's about to snap at her, but the pinkette is saved when a woman in scrubs walks in.

"I'm Dr. Tsunade." She says when she eyes the three college kids. She directs her attention to Naruto while eying the towel draped over his face. "What seems to be the problem?"

"He's an idiot." Sasuke responds in a flat tone. Naruto removes the towel and sends a glare towards his friend.

"I got pepper sprayed." Naruto says in a quiet voice, hinting at embarrassment. The doctor quirks a blonde brow up in amusement.

"And how did that happen?" she asks.

Sakura bursts in a response. "It was all my fault! I just moved into my apartment and there had been weird noises the night before and I didn't know that these guys were my new roommates and when I came home the door was unlocked and I panicked and he came around the corner and I just sprayed him!" Sakura finishes her rambling and takes a deep breath.

Tsunade holds back a laugh and moves to inspect Naruto's eyes. "Don't worry, this actually happens more often than you would think." After a quick examination she pulls out a pen and starts writing on a notepad. Sakura starts apologizing to Naruto again, but is silenced when Sasuke starts to speak.

"Stop apologizing so much, it's annoying." Sakura is taken aback by his rudeness, but doesn't say anything.

"Okay, so I'm going to prescribe you some eye drops. Put them in when you first wake up and when you go to bed. For the next couple of days stay away from pools, smoking areas, and any other places that could irritate your eyes." Tsunade instructs as she hands Naruto a slip of paper. "Give this to that ladies at the front desk and they'll give you the drops. That's it, I think you're all set."

She holds the door to the room open and ushers the three out, but before Sakura leaves she stops her.

"Good work. It's better to have an incident like this that can be easily fixed, than getting kidnapped or worse." She gives Sakura a smile before exiting the room.

* * *

After getting the prescription and returning home, Sakura gazes outside her window. The sun is shining brightly and multiple students are flocked around the pool.

_Only a week before school starts back up, might as well enjoy the good weather. _

Making up her mind, she slips on a green bikini, some denim shorts, and a pair of white flip-flops. Slinging a towel over her arm, Sakura heads to the corridor. Upon entering the living room she's satisfied when the two boys sitting on the couch slightly widen their eyes at her attire.

"I'm going to the pool, anybody want to come?" Naruto immediately shoots to his feet.

"I'll join you, Sakura!" His enthusiasm is stanched when Sasuke's hand pulls him back down to the couch.

"Dobe, you're not allowed near pools." He reminds his friend with a gesture to his bloodshot eyes. Defeated, Naruto's shoulders slump, but Sasuke rises from the couch.

"I'll come." Sasuke disappears into the bedroom and emerges in a pair of blue swim trunks and a white t-shirt.

"Sorry Naruto, we'll go another time." Sakura tells the pouting blonde.

"Come on, let's go." Sasuke says as he heads towards the front door.

* * *

The pool's full of college kids; girls wearing skimpy bikinis teasing the guys in colorful shorts. Sakura spots two empty lounge chairs situated next to each other and moves to claim them. After laying out her towel, Sakura removes her shorts and lies on the chair. Another chicken competition is taking place in the pool, so she watches it with excitement.

The sound of Sasuke settling into the chair next to hers peaks her interest. Sakura's jaw drops as she eyes her roommate in all his shirtless glory. His body was near godlike in Sakura's opinion. He's slender but muscular, his arms perfectly sculpted and a set a six-pack abs are situated beneath his toned pecks. Thankfully, she notes that his eyes are closed, allowing her to continue enjoying the view.

"Stop staring." He says emotionlessly. Sakura feels her face flush hot at being caught openly ogling him. She glances up at his face and realizes that his eyes are still closed.

_How did he-_

Sasuke interrupts Sakura's train of thought with a muttered, "This is why I can never go to the pool."

She turns away, face still bright red. Trying to ease the awkwardness of the situation Sakura decides to try at conversation.

"So… Sasuke, what are you studying?" She asks.

"Law." His response is short and to the point.

"And Naruto?"

"He's exploratory."

"What year are you guys?"

"Sophomore."

"And he's _still _exploratory?" Sakura asks slightly shocked. She's known that she wanted to be a doctor since she was ten.

"He's taking really random classes." Sasuke replies.

"I'm sure they're not _that _bad." Sakura says defending the boy she met only hours ago.

Sasuke opens his eyes to shoot her a glance. "Cooking, Russian, History of Art, and Trig 101."

"Wow, that kid is everywhere, but he's taking cooking so we'll be eating good right?" Sakura thinks back to last year and how she survived off of tuna and pizza.

"Don't get your hopes up. Last time he tried to cook we had to call the fire department." Sakura winces at the thought of her new kitchen up in flames. Then a much more pressing issues presents itself in her mind.

"Neither of you collect bugs, right?" Sasuke looks at her as if she just sprouted a second head.

"No…" He answers slowly, confusion evident in his voice. Content with his answer Sakura continues lay in peace. She defiantly could've been stuck with worse roommates. After about five minutes of silence, she opens her mouth to ask another question.

"So how did you guys become friends?" She asks interested in how the contrasting pair formed.

"We've known each other since elementary school." It wasn't exactly the answer Sakura was looking for, but she decided to accept it.

"I'm going in the water." She says, standing from her chair. "Coming?" Sasuke responds with a curt nod and the two head towards the pool.

After swimming for a little while they decide to head back to the apartment. Upon opening the door, they are confronted by a very startled Naruto.

"Uh guys… we have a problem." The blonde says as Sasuke and Sakura set their towels down on the kitchen table.

"What's wrong?" Sakura asks slightly panicked.

Naruto pauses for a while before looking both of them directly in the eye.

"This place only has two bedrooms."

* * *

**A/N: * sigh* I wish there was a way that I could just snap my fingers and all of my thoughts would automatically appear on paper. It would certainly make updating faster. **

**Anyways, now we've met the roommates! And how will our favorite team resolve this whole "2 beds" issue? ;)**

**Next chapter: What happens when it's time to put in the eye drops?**


	3. Unwelcome Guest

**A/N: Been a long time, ne? *dodges flying object* **

* * *

**Apartment 7**

Unwelcomed Guest

"This place only has two bedrooms." Naruto tells the two chlorine-smelling college students.

Sakura's eyes widen slightly at the realization, but the raven-haired 20 year-old standing next to her remains impassive. "Then sleep on the couch Dobe."

"Why me?"

"Would you rather kick Sakura out of her room?" Said pinkette becomes ruffled at the thought. _No way are they kicking me out of my room, not with a freaking ghost walking…eh… floating around. _

Naruto begins denying Sasuke's suggestion when Sakura decides to throw out a solution. "How about you guys alternate?"

The blonde eagerly nods his head in agreement, but Sasuke cuts in with his own suggestion.

"Or the first one there gets it." He states in a way that leaves no room for argument.

"No! I'll never it get it that way!" Naruto exclaims.

"Exactly." Arrogance drips from the word.

"Teme!"

When Naruto begins yelling all sorts of profanities at the other male in the room, Sakura takes it as her cue to leave.

"Okay, while you guys _discuss_ this," Sakura makes air quotes around the verb. "I'm gonna go take a shower."

The med-student apprehensively leaves her roommate to fight it out and enters the bathroom that she had claimed as her own.

Remembering the noises from the previous night, she quickly pulls back the curtain to make sure that the room really is empty before stripping. Finding nothing other than the vacant stall behind the cream-colored curtain, Sakura lets out a sigh of relief before turning on the water. Once hanging both parts of her bikini on the door handle, she steps into the, now warm, stream of water.

* * *

Sakura rummages through her drawers for comfortable clothes, her shower towel wrapped securely around her body. She's rewarded for her efforts when she finds a black camisole and a pair of blue shorts.

_Growl._ Her stomach reminds the petal-haired girl of the exhausting day and it's lack of food. Glancing at the clock, she realizes that it's nearing dinnertime.

With her heart set on getting something to eat, Sakura emerges from her room and steps into the living room. She notices that her roommates have finished arguing about the bed situation and have changed to the topic of the soccer teams on the television. Sakura rolls her eyes at their strange friendship and searches through the kitchen cabinets for something to eat.

"Hey, Roomy! What's for dinner?" Naruto asks from the living room.

"Why are there two cabinets filled with instant ramen?" She calls back.

A defensive cry of "It's my comfort food!" is the only response she receives.

* * *

Sasuke sits on the couch, listening to his new roommate rummage through the kitchen, while his old one yells at the TV. His first opinion of the pink-haired med student is that she's annoying. Sure, she's decent looking, but her constant yammering might get old.

Sasuke's in the middle of contradicting Naruto's cry of "off-sides" when a loud crash from the kitchen followed by an exclamation of pain and some curses interrupts him.

"That's it," he says before rising from the couch. "We're ordering pizza."

* * *

An argument over toppings and 30 minutes later, the three students sit on the living room floor eating pizza and getting to know each other better.

"… and that's how I was made chief of the frogs." Naruto finishes his exaggerated story, leaving Sakura's jaw dropping in shock and Sasuke rolling his eyes in annoyance.

"That's not how it happened." Sasuke says in order to set the record straight. "You were just the only kid on the playground that would go near the slimy creatures. "

"Says the boy that had a pet snake." Naruto retorts back.

"Manda was awesome. Everybody thought I was cool."

"You pronounced 'creepy' wrong."

"Then why did all the girls follow me around," Sasuke responds keeping his tone even.

"Yeah right, what about that-" Sensing another argument starting, Sakura cuts in.

"So… Why'd you guys move here?" she asks.

"Well, he got us kicked out of our last apartment." An accusatory finger gets pointed at Naruto, who is currently trying to stuff an entire piece of pizza in his mouth.

The blonde boy glares at Sasuke, unable to defend himself with the large amount of food inhibiting his speech. After a moment of chewing and a large swallow, his mouth is empty enough to get a sentence out. "How was I supposed to know that you can't put tin foil in microwaves?"

"Everybody knows that!" Sakura exclaims, even more worried about letting the boy anywhere near the kitchen. She laughs it off however and continues eating, watching her new roommates bicker back and forth. She can't help but think that compared to her old roommate, a fiery redhead with a tongue like a whip, these guys seem pretty chill.

* * *

Naruto lets out a war cry as Sasuke tackles him to the couch.

"The doctor said you have to put them in!" Sakura yells as Sasuke pins the dissenting blonde's shoulders down.

"I don't want to, they hurt!" He shouts in protest.

"Your eyes won't heal in time for school if you don't put them in." She's getting frustrated with the boy's constant opposition.

"I'd rather go blind!" He bursts out.

"Don't be an idiot," Sasuke tells him in his usual cool tone. "Sakura, you're going to have to sit on him and pry his eyes open."

Sakura shifts her weight from one foot to the other, embarrassed that she would have to straddle her _male_ roommate who she had known for a little less than a day.

"Come on Sakura, I can't hold him down forever," impatience leaks into Sasuke's voice.

"Don't do it Sakura-chan!" Naruto yells as he begins thrashing around violently.

Figuring that she's more scared of her darker haired roommate, Sakura swings one leg over Naruto and plants her butt on his chest. She pins his arms to his sides using her knees.

"Why Sakura-chan? Why would you betray me?" He wails dramatically.

"Naruto, quit being difficult and hold still." The med student pries one of his eyes open with her left hand while her right poises the dropper bottle over his dilated pupils. She squeezes the bottle slightly and a clear drop of medicinal fluid lands on his bloodshot cornea.

He lets out a howl of pain and starts flailing more. One of his arms breaks free and slaps the bottle of solution out of Sakura's hand.

"Goddamnit Naruto!" The pinkette cries in anger. "Stop being such a baby." After much more hostility, the blonde sits on the living room floor icing a new bump on his head that he received in the process of medicating his other eye.

"I am not doing that again." Sakura says while sitting down next to him, her own icepack pressed against an elbow. "I don't care if it makes you blind, it is not worth the fight."

Naruto crosses his arms and begins pouting, the icepack still in hand. "Ne, Sakura-chan, that's not very nice."

"Well neither is fighting off your friends while they are trying to help you." She shoots back.

"Friends? So I'm your friend?"

"Well, yeah. Roommate, friend it kind of goes hand and hand doesn't it?" Sakura responds, shocked by the hopeful glint in Naruto's eyes.

"I don't know, my uncle used to tell me that you always end up hating your roommates."

"Well you don't hate Sasuke do you?" Sakura asks.

"Sasuke's different, we practically grew up together." Hoping that he'll expand on the topic, Sakura remains quiet. "Speaking of the bastard, where is he?"

Disappointed that she couldn't hear more about her roommates backstory, Sakura answers his question. "I think he hopped in the shower."

In a blink of an eye, Naruto's on his feet running down the corridor.

"Where are you going?" Sakura cries after him.

"Bed!"

Sakura shakes her head as she remembers the bed issue. It would sure make life interesting. Now all that's left is to sit back and watch the drama unfold. Sasuke didn't seem like the type to just give up and let somebody else take his bed.

Surprisingly enough, twenty minutes later, Sasuke with his hair still damp, comes to sit next to Sakura on the couch.

"What? You're not going to fight him for the bed?" She asks expectantly.

"In a fist fight, Naruto and I are pretty evenly matched. The best way to fight him is using the one thing he doesn't have, wit." Sasuke replies.

Sakura looks at him for a confused moment, but before she can say anything, Sasuke shouts, "Naruto, somebody's handing out free ramen samples."

In a blur of orange and blonde, Naruto rushes to the front door. "What? Where?" Upon seeing nobody there, he shuts the front door with his shoulders slumped in defeat. "Sasuke, there was nobody- Teme! That's cheating! You can't take the bed that way!" He cries in outrage when realization dawns on him.

"Shut up Dobe, I'm trying to sleep." A muffled voice yells from the boys' bedroom. With a chuckle, Sakura heads off to her own bedroom in order to get some sleep.

* * *

_Grrrrr._

_Creak!_

_Crash!_

Sakura's eyes shoot open at the symphony of sounds. Slowly she sits up, all the while eying her bedroom door as if it would be broken down at any moment.

_Come on Sakura, you're an adult. There's no such things as ghosts. _She reprimands herself, but with each resounding noise, it's getting harder and harder to believe. Slowly, Sakura creeps towards her door. Nudging it open, she quietly steps into the corridor. This time, instead of the bathroom, the banging is coming from the kitchen.

Mentally preparing herself for whatever might be awaiting her, Sakura peeks her head around the corner, coming face to face with… Naruto!

Sakura frights with a jump and begins to fall backwards, but Naruto grabs her arm and steadies her.

"Whoa, are you okay?" the blonde inquires as Sakura regains her balance.

"Yeah, you just scared me." She responds in embarrassment. "Was that you making those noises?"

"Oh, was I being too loud? Sorry." He moves an arm behind his head and ruffles his scruffy hair, giving Sakura a good view of his muscular bicep. "I got hungry and was making some ramen. Want any?"

She declines his offer with a shake of her head. "How about I make some tea?"

"Sounds great!"

Once the two students sit at the table with steaming cups of freshly brewed tea, they begin to talk again.

"So, what _did_ you think the noises were? That ghost you were talking about earlier?" Naruto asks as he blows on the contents of his teacup.

Sakura pauses mid-sip to answer him. "This place really is haunted, I swear!"

"Come on, I don't even believe in ghosts!" Naruto exclaims a little too loudly. Suddenly, a loud bang echoes from the hallway. Both university students' eyes widen in shock.

"It's, uh, probably just Sasuke." Naruto reasons.

"Y-yeah… Sasuke…" Sakura replies, but her tone makes it obvious that she's not buying it.

"Let's go check it out!" The blonde says, using enthusiasm to mask his fear.

"Are you crazy?" Sakura exclaims, considering calling Kiba for a place to crash again.

"It's just Sasuke." Naruto reasons while rising from his chair. As much as she doesn't want to go towards the noise, the thought of being alone scares her even more, so Sakura follows after him anyways.

When they reach the hallway with the bedrooms, the entire apartment becomes eerily silent, causing unease to wash over the investigators. Slowly they walk towards the boys' bedroom door. With a twist of the knob, Naruto nudges the door open revealing a slumbering Sasuke. Sakura blushes when she notices that he's lying on top of the sheets in only a pair of boxers, allowing her to get a good look of his body for a second time in the past 24 hours.

She would have stared at his body forever, had the sound of a shower turning on not caused Naruto to practically slam the bedroom door shut. Both students turn from their position of facing the door so that the bathroom across the hallway is in their line of site.

Sakura stiffens at the scene of the door opening and closing rapidly; the handle shaking violently as if it would come off. She stifles a shriek when something grabs a hold of her arm and begins dragging her towards the kitchen. She tries to fight it, until she realizes that it's just Naruto.

"Holy shit! What the hell type of apartment did that pervert rent to us?" Naruto grabs a large steak knife from the drawer and glances at Sakura. "We need to arm ourselves."

Realizing that her pepper spray is on the counter from before the hospital trip, Sakura reaches for the pink canister.

"Put the pepper spray down!" Naruto demands while scurrying away from the now armed girl.

"What am I supposed to use then?" She yells back.

"Uh… here!" Naruto picks up the teakettle from the stove and hands it to her, all the while spilling the, still warm, water all over the floor.

"Naruto! That teakettle was a present from my dad!" She sets it back on the counter not wanting to damage the precious object.

"Fine, then just get behind me. I'll protect you Sakura-chan!" He pulls the girl behind him and they walk towards the couch. The moment they sit down, the cabinets in the kitchen begin to rattle.

Pulling her knees up to her chest Sakura leans her back on Naruto's so that she faces the hallway, while he is turned towards the kitchen. "Do you believe in ghost now?" She asks.

"Hell yeah."

* * *

**A/N: Not too much humor in this chapter, buy hey, that ghost is getting pretty troublesome. **

**I apologize for the long gap in between updates, but if you check out my Livejournal, (link on profile) I explain everything on there. :) **


	4. Stalkers

**A/N: **_For _YamiHinata _and _pluhsauce,_ thanks for sticking with me :) _

* * *

**Apartment 7 **

Stalkers

Sasuke wakes up to the sound of his phone vibrating on the bedside table. Slowly opening his eyes, he glances at the digital clock, the red display showing that it's 6 in the morning. With a sigh, Sasuke reaches over to grab his phone.

The message is from a number that is not in his contacts, but he still recognizes it instantly.

**We need to talk. Call me.**

Ignoring the message, the raven-haired student rises from the bed. After getting dressed, he exits the room only to be met with a confusing sight in the living room.

There, sleeping back-to-back on the brown couch are his roommates. Naruto, clad in orange boxers and a white tank top holds a knife in his lap, while his disheveled blonde head of hair is drooped forward.

_Idiot, what the hell is he doing with a knife? _

Sakura's pink hair is up in a messy bun, while her head leans back onto one of Naruto shoulders. Her clothes are in disarray and she's snoring softly.

Not quite sure what would have caused his roommates to end up in such a position, Sasuke decides to play it safe and clear his throat to wake them up. At the sound, Sakura's green eyes slowly flutter open. A look of confusion evident on her face, she sits up and takes in her surroundings.

"You two seem to have gotten cozy."

Sakura turns wide eyes to the Uchiha. "Didn't you hear it?"

"Hear what?" he asks, quirking an eyebrow up.

"The ghost!" She exclaims.

Sasuke shakes his head in disbelief. "Not this again." The med student jumps to her feet, about to retort back, when the shiny object in her sleeping companion's hand catches her eye. The boy had fallen backwards once he couldn't lean on her anymore, causing the knife to be within plain sight.

After quickly popping her neck and back, Sakura retrieves the weapon from the snoozing blonde, and hands it to her other roommate. "I can see why you guys don't want to sleep on the couch, that thing is uncomfortable." She says while massaging her shoulder.

Sasuke takes the cooking instrument to the kitchen and tosses it into the sink, on the way back to the living room however, his sock-clad foot slips on something wet causing him to slide on the tile and fall, face first, to the ground. When a head of pink hair peers around the counter to see what the commotion was, Sasuke fights the embarrassed blush from creeping onto his face.

"Oh," Sakura says while unsuccessfully trying to bite back her laughter. "Naruto – _giggle _– spilled some water last night while we were running – _snicker – _from the ghost."

"Naruto!" Sasuke yells while rising to his feet and storming back to the living room.

The oblivious boy barely has time to open his eyes before he's knocked from the couch to the floor.

"What the hell, bastard!" He exclaims before a thrown dishtowel lands on his face.

"You spilled water in the kitchen, go wipe it up." Sasuke orders sternly before disappearing into the boys' room.

Disgruntled, Naruto slowly rises from the ground, but does what he's told.

* * *

After exchanging his damp socks for some clean ones, Sasuke reenters the living room only to find his roommates speaking rapidly about last night's events.

"All that banging is not normal, and I checked the news station, it wasn't an earthquake." The female was stating while dramatically flailing her arms around.

"I still can't believe that Sasuke didn't hear anything." Naruto says while shooting a glare at said Uchiha, still bitter about his rude awakening.

"Probably because it was just your imagination running wild. Not everybody can handle a night in a new place." Sasuke butts in, not believing any of paranormal nonsense.

"I can handle myself just fine!" Naruto snaps back. "It was a ghost, I swear! This place is haunted!"

Sasuke sends the oblivious blonde a withering look. "I'm going for a run." With that, he slips on his trainers and exits the apartment.

* * *

Sasuke's feet hit the pavement, the cool air of the morning nipping at his cheeks. The complex was spaced out enough that the surrounding sidewalk proved to be a useful running track. Other students seemed to think so as well since quite a few of the other residences were jogging along the same path.

Sasuke loved running, it gave him an escape from reality, he would lose himself in the repetitive motion, giving him a clear mind. He was fast too; he had broken basically all of his high school's records for track and cross-country, not to mention swimming, soccer, and basketball.

Breathing in the crisp air, he completes his second lap and starts on the third, his mind spacing out into the blissful quiet. His peace, however, is interrupted when a blonde girl in a bright purple exercise shirt jogs up next to him.

_The fangirls are out early today. _He thinks to himself irritably.

Hoping that she'll get the hint, Sasuke picks up his pace. Unfortunately for him, she's fairly athletic and persists in her pursuit of him.

"You're Uchiha Sasuke, right?" She asks while trying to keep up with his grueling speed.

"Hn." He replies while running even faster.

"You just moved here?" She asks, her breathing getting heavy with the intense exercise.

"Hn." _Why don't they understand that I don't like talking to random strangers?_

"Wow! You – _pant –_ run really fast!" She says breathlessly. "I'm Ino. Want to – _pant pant – _get coffee sometime?"

"Hn." Sasuke's full out sprinting back to his apartment and successfully leaves Ino in the dust.

"I'll take that as a maybe!" She yells after him.

Sasuke enters his apartment and slams the door behind him.

"How was your run?" Sakura calls cheerfully from the kitchen, a cup of coffee in hand.

"Fine." Sasuke grunts out before making his way to the bathroom.

_What's up with him?_ Sakura thinks to herself before turning away.

* * *

"Please Kakashi! Do me this favor!" The blonde girl begs her landlord. "It's like super important!"

The silver-haired man glares at her with his one visible eye. "Ino, I highly doubt that knowing the number of Sasuke's apartment is _that _important." He adverts his attention back the orange book in his hand.

"Oh, come one! I'll buy you a new eye-patch, a gold one!" she whines. The bored landlord sends her a condescending look before he turns away from her again.

Eying the cover of the book, an idea pops into Ino's conniving mind. "I see you like Icha Icha," Kakashi's gaze is back on the blonde woman, his interest obviously peaked. "Well, I happen to have a friend who acquired a copy of the bonus addition of the latest book that, might I add, has yet to be released in stores. Oh, and it's autographed too."

If the man hadn't been wearing a bandana around his face, Ino would have witnessed his jaw drop. "So if I tell you the number of his apartment, you'll get a hold of this special copy of Icha Icha?"

Ino responds with an enthusiastic nod, knowing that she has just gotten her way.

"Seven, Uchiha is currently renting apartment number seven."

"Thank you Kakashi, expect your… book," Ino hesitates in recognizing the vulgar collection of pages as literature, "by next week."

With a wave, Ino scampers away to search for her current obsession's home.

* * *

Upon reaching the door with lopsided seven on it, Ino doesn't quite know what to do. She shouldn't knock, then she'd have to explain how she knew this was his current place of residence. Maybe she should wait nearby until he gets home, then she can casually "bump into him".

An evil smile makes its way unto the plotting blondes face, her blue eyes practically dancing with excitement.

Footsteps echo throughout the breezeway, signaling the approach of somebody else.

_Crap, if Sasuke sees me now, my whole plan will be ruined. _Thinking quickly, the blonde dives into a piece of nearby shrubbery. Peering out, she witnesses a person open the door the apartment eight and disappear inside.

A sigh of relief escapes her.

_What if Sasuke saw me dive into this bush? Oh my gosh, I would probably die from embarrassment. _

Ino is about to exit the prickly bushes, but stops when she gets the strange feeling of somebody watching her.

Ino turns her head around only to find crimson eyes staring at her.

"What are _you _doing? This is my bush!" The other occupant yells as she adjusts her glasses.

"What do you mean _your _bush? This is situated in front of my future husband's door!" Ino snaps back.

"_Your_ future husband? No way, Sasuke's mine! We have history!" The redhead flips back her lopsided hair and glares at Ino.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Ino replies sarcastically. "Following him around and taking pictures of him while he's not looking does _not_ count as 'history'."

"I'll have you know, that Sasuke saved my life once!"

"Bitch! He's mine, back off!"

"The name's Karin! Remember it, because some day it will be written next to 'Uchiha' on a wedding certificate!"

"Keep dreaming!"

"You keep dreaming Blondie, Sasuke's mine!"

"Sh! Somebody's coming." Ino says before peaking her head over the bush.

Blue and crimson eyes watch as the new arrival stops in front of apartment seven.

"Is that a girl?" Karin practically shrieks.

"Of course not, why would _my _Sasuke-kun have a girl over?" Ino retorts.

The door of the apartment opens allowing light to spill out into the dimly lit corridor.

"Bitch! I already told you he's mine!" At Karin's shout, the mystery girl turns around revealing bright viridian eyes and soft pink hair.

Both bush girls duck down in order to avoid being seen, but each recognized the pinkette. "Forehead!" Ino gasps out at the same time that Karin yells out "Ugly!"

Both stalkers widen their eyes at each other and in unison ask the other. "You know Sakura?" before in horror adding, "Sakura knows Sasuke?" They peek over the top of the bush once more and witness said girl unlock the door and walk into the apartment.

Gasping in horror, both fangirls begin to devise plans in order to get to the bottom of this confusing situation.

* * *

**A/N:** _This chapter was kind of short, but I honestly couldn't think of anything else to add into it. Oh well, please review to let me know what ya think! _


	5. Reacquainted

**Apartment 7**

Reacquainted

Sunlight peaking through the open window wakes Sakura from her sleep. Outside, birds are chirping and people at the pool are laughing. Waking up naturally is always a sign that the day will be a good one for the med student.

After a cat-like stretch, the pinkette rolls out of bed. With a glance at her phone she notices that noon has already come and gone.

_School starts in three days, might as well sleep in while I can. _She reasons with herself.

Memories of the all-nighters and early exams that plagued her freshman year drift into her mind. Suppressing a groan, Sakura begins to get dressed, pushing all thoughts of her stressful first year of college out of her mind.

She shimmies into a flowy floral skirt and a lacy cream tank top. After finishing pulling on her tights, a chime from her phone signals a new text message from Kiba.

**Are we still on for lunch?**

She sends a quick reply about being on her way as she exits the apartment.

* * *

_Here she comes._ Ino thinks to herself as she spots a blur of pink heading her way.

_Damn it. She looks adorable._ She observes upon eyeing the petite girl's outfit. With a sigh, the blonde puts on a smile and intercepts her target.

"Hey Forehead! Long time no see."

"Oh my gosh." Sakura squints as if not believing her eyes. "Pig? Where did you come from?"

"Ya know, around. I started an internship at the local beauty salon; my mom also pulled some strings and got me a part-time job at the local flower shop. Good work experience, she says," Ino jabbers away after pulling Sakura into a hug.

"Wow Ino, that sounds great." Sakura smiles. "So you live in this complex as well?" she asks when she notices that they are still standing in the parking lot of the apartment buildings.

"Yeah, for the past year." After glancing at the building appreciatively, the blue-eyed girl turns back to Sakura. "Do you want to go get coffee or something? We can catch up."

"Actually, Pig, I'm meeting another friend for lunch, but I'll take a rain check on that coffee." Sakura tells her old friend regretfully.

"No problem. However, if you're not busy tonight, there's a party at my friend Shikamaru's apartment, number ten. Swing by if you're free." The blonde girl waves as she begins to walk away. "Oh! Feel free to bring your roommate." She calls as she skips from the parking lot to the nearby building.

* * *

"So, how did meeting the roommates go?" Kiba asks as he takes a bite of sandwich.

Sakura winches at the question.

"That bad, huh?" He mumbles while chewing the food in his mouth.

The two were seated outside at a local café. Apparently, it has been around since Konoha University was first established, not that Sakura cared about the history much. The food was good and affordable which was all that mattered to the poor med student.

Buying some time from answering the question, Sakura nervously sips on her iced tea. Once her cup is nearly empty, the pinkette looks up at Kiba's expecting face. "Isprayedpeppersprayinhiseyes." She mumbles under her breath.

"What? I didn't catch that." Kiba says with an eyebrow cocked in the air.

"I sprayed pepper spray in his eyes!" Sakura says much louder causing the occupants at the surrounding tables to glance at her.

Kiba laughs and begins choking on his food while trying to catch his breath. He obviously finds the situation much more amusing then Sakura. "What did he do?" Kiba asks, clutching his side.

"My other roommate drove us to the hospital." Sakura replies sheepishly.

"Oh man, that's a new one!" Kiba starts chuckling again.

"It's not _that_ funny." She responds her agitation growing with each amused sound from her dinning partner.

"Anyways," Kiba begins, thinking it wise to change the subject. "There's a party tonight being hosted by this guy, Shikamaru. He's pretty cool, but absolutely lazy. I can't believe he's actually putting in the effort to throw a party," he says.

"Yeah, I heard about that." Sakura replies. "I ran into my best friend from high school, Ino, and she invited me."

"Ino, eh?" Kiba says. "Isn't that the chick from number eleven?"

"I don't know, I ran into her in the parking lot." Sakura responds while dipping a french fry in some mayo.

"She's hot." Kiba says. "By the way, dipping french fries in mayo is gross."

"It probably is Ino then, she's known to be a head turner. Don't dis my eating habits!" Sakura says, defending her favorite food combination.

"Whatever, weirdo. So I'll see you tonight then?"

After shooting the brunette a quick glare, Sakura smiles. "Yep!"

The rest of their lunch goes by uneventfully. They mainly chitchat about dreading school starting back up, but oh well, it's not like they can stop the inevitable.

* * *

After returning from lunch, Sakura finds Naruto in the kitchen eating a cup of instant ramen. "You know, that stuff is high in sodium and has a ton of calories." She points out.

"Thank you med student," The blonde shoots a sarcastic reply.

Ignoring his jab, Sakura leans in front of him. "So there's a party tonight at one of our neighbors' place, wanna come?"

"Heck yeah!" Naruto replies before bringing the plastic container to his lips and drinking the contents. "I'll go pick out an outfit!" Enthusiastically, he bolts from the kitchen.

Figuring that she better invite Sasuke too, Sakura follows after Naruto to the boys' room. Inside, she finds Naruto rummaging through a pile of discarded clothes while Sasuke sits on the bed, flipping through a book.

"So Sasuke, do you want to come to a party at apartment ten?" She asks, hoping that he'll agree, after all, a party is the perfect way to get closer with both of her attractive roommates.

"No." He replies, not even glancing up from his book.

"Oh… okay." Awkwardly, Sakura closes the door to the room and heads to her own.

* * *

"So how come Sasuke doesn't want to come to the party?" Sakura asks as she and Naruto make their way across the complex.

"He's majorly serious about his studies." He says while straightening his orange button down. In the past couple of days, Sakura has noticed that her more outgoing roommate's wardrobe consisted of items that were either orange, black, or a mixture of the two.

"I'm pretty serious about my own studies." She responds.

"I don't doubt it, but it's different for the teme. He has to take over his family business the second he graduates." Sakura raises a brow at this, her curiosity piqued. "His parents died in an accident. He doesn't like to talk about it."

"Oh?" Sakura questions, hoping to learn more about the stoic man she shares a house with.

"I probably shouldn't say anymore," Naruto begins to clam up, which is extremely uncommon for the hyperactive blonde. "It's really not my place."

_Maybe Sasuke isn't just a pretty face._

* * *

"Sakura! You made it!" A familiar feminine voice yells across the room.

"Hey!"

"Who is this?" Ino questions as she eyes Naruto, handing each of the new arrivals a red solo cup.

"This is my roommate Naruto." Sakura responds, accepting the drink.

"Really? I heard a rumor that you were rooming with, oh… what's his name," Ino snaps her fingers as if searching her mind for the name. "Oh right, Uchiha Sasuke."

"Yeah, I'm rooming with both."

"Lucky you, having two hot guys as roommates. My roommate Temari is completely frightening. She's always gone, but she gave her creepy brothers a key so they always come over unannounced." Ino says while dramatically throwing an arm across her forehead as if in great distress. "One of them dresses like a cat and the other wears way too much eyeliner."

"I met Temari at Tenten's party the other night." Sakura says while Ino looks at her expectantly. "She was pretty nice." When the blonde girl shoots her a glare, Sakura is reminded of her high school days and how judgmental Ino can be, and in the girl's blue eyes, if anybody has a different opinion they would be deemed as the scum of the earth. Sakura immediately corrects herself. "By nice I mean not nice?" She adds as if searching for the right words.

Once the words are out of her mouth the pinkette mentally face palms herself.

"Right." Ino drawls out before turning to a timid girl with bluish hair standing next to her. "This is Hinata, one of the cutest people you will ever meet, but she's notoriously shy." The girl gives a slight wave.

"Hinata?" Naruto shouts before running up to the, now blushing, girl. "Oh my gosh, it really is you! Wow what a coincidence that we ended up at the same complex, it's like I'm following you, eh?" The young girl doesn't respond, but her face flames an even brighter shade of crimson.

Noticing this, Sakura decides to rescue the poor girl. "Naruto, why don't you go dance with Ino?" Nudging to two blondes to the dance floor, Sakura moves to sit next to Hinata on a brown couch similar to the one at her own apartment.

"So Hinata, what are you studying?" The dark haired girl fiddles with her black dress subconsciously while looking up at Sakura with peculiar pearl-like eyes that give off a slight lavender glint despite the dim light in the apartment.

"Business, my father wanted me to." The girl slightly stumbles over her words, but Sakura gets a feeling that it's due to the subject they are discussing rather than the nervousness that Ino talked about.

"And you know Naruto?"

Hinata blushes slightly at his name, but smiles. "Yes, we've known each since elementary school," she glances up to watch the two blondes happily dancing with each other. "He's always been a little rambunctious, but he has a good heart."

Sakura begins to formulate a plan that involves locking her roommate and her new friend in a room together.

The two girls move their conversation to the kitchen table where they manage to hear each other over the pounding music. Sakura learns that Hinata's father is super protective and the only reason she goes to school at Konoha University is so her cousin can keep an eye on her. When Sakura learns her cousin is actually Neji, she tells Hinata the story about the beer pong game, earning a few chuckles from the girl.

"Wow, no wonder he was in a bad mood when he got home that night. Nobody's ever beaten him before." Hinata says in response to the tale.

"So I've heard." Sakura replies.

Neither of the girls drink more than the single cup they had at the beginning of the night, settling for talking and enjoying each other's company instead. Eventually, Ino and Naruto join them and begin playing a drinking game involving quarters.

When it gets to a point that both of the blondes are passed out on the kitchen floor, Sakura and Hinata decide to call it a night.

"Well Hinata, it was nice meeting you, but I better get Naruto home." Sakura says as she eyes the sleeping boy.

"Yeah, I'll make sure Ino gets back to her place. I hope to see you soon Sakura." With that, Hinata rouses the unconscious girl and drags her out of the apartment.

Sakura begins to shake Naruto hoping to stir him.

"Oh, hey Sakura-chan." Glassy cerulean eyes gaze up at her from the floor. "What time is it? I'm sleepy." The boy attempts to close his eyes again.

"Oh no you don't! You are not crashing on the floor. Let's get you home." Awkwardly, Sakura bends over, thanking Kami that she had the sense to change into shorts for the party. Using all of her strength, she pulls Naruto so he's standing erect.

"Ne, Sakura-chan?" A slurred voice says while the pinkette struggles under his weight.

"What is it, Naruto?" She replies between clenched teeth.

"Ino's a cool person, but she talks a lot. Not like Hinata. Hinata's cute, but weird. She never says anything to me. I don't think she likes me." He rambles, stumbling over any words that contain more than two syllables.

"Hey, we can talk about this later. Right now can you focus on walking?" Sakura asks as she shifts Naruto's weight so that he's leaning on her shoulder. Before they move any further, an idea dawns upon Sakura. "Hey Naruto, can you tell me more about Sasuke's family? What type of accident did they get in? Has he always been so serious?"

"Didn't I already tell you that I don't talk about that? Silly Sakura-chan, forgetting what I said." He responds, tongue struggling with the s's.

_Damn it. Well it was worth a shot. _

Once out the door, Sakura opts out of talking the sidewalk around the complex, figuring that cutting through the large grassy field would get them to number seven faster.

With their immense height difference, the duo looks quite strange, the tall boy practically knocking over his petite companion as she struggles under his large frame. As Sakura focuses on getting them home, Naruto continues his ramblings. She honestly doesn't mind his talking, as long as it keeps him conscious.

At one point, Naruto stops speaking altogether and he body gets whole lot heavier, causing Sakura to fall to her knees in the middle of the field. Right before the unconscious boy can land on top of her, Sakura lets go of him and rolls out of the way as his head hits the ground with an audible _thud. _

_Oh shit. _She thinks as she glances at the barely visible outline of her fallen roommate. _What the hell am I supposed to do now?_

* * *

**A/N: **_I know I've said this before, but I absolutely LOVE writing this story. It's a good break from writing _Unhinged_ which is mainly serious and angsty. I really like switching it up with the humor, even though some of mine is kind of predictable and cliché. Whatever ;) _

_Oh by the way, is "French" in "french fry" capital or not? I honestly have no idea. Oh well, I guess it's similar to brussels sprouts… Wait, is _that_ capitalized? That's it, I give up. _


	6. Bathroom Escapade

**Apartment 7**

Bathroom Escapade

Looking down at her unconscious roommate, Sakura begins to panic. "Okay, call Sasuke!" She orders herself while grabbing her cell phone from her pocket. "Crap, he's going to find me even more annoying." She mutters while selecting his name from her contact list.

_Rrrrring! Rrrrri- _"I'm sorry, the number you have dialed is not available-" Sakura angrily ends the call, cutting off the monotone voice of the operator.

Exasperated, she shoots a glare at the oblivious blonde before making a decision. "Um… I'll be right back." She tells the comatose boy. "Don't move." Nervously chuckling to herself at her lame joke, the med student runs off towards her apartment.

The field itself is slightly muddy, making running extremely difficult for the slightly out of shape pinkette. The entire trip, Sakura tries to keep her mind off of her screaming lungs while thinking about how her favorite pair of red converses is now most likely ruined.

Upon reaching the breezeway, she inspects her sneakers in the dim lighting. Sure enough, the once bright red and clean white exterior of her shoes is now covered in brown splatters of mud and green stains from the moist grass.

Figuring that her intoxicated roommate is a little more important than her shoes, Sakura, heavily panting, unlocks the door while silently cursing to the lopsided seven.

Still exhausted, she stumbles into the apartment and heads towards the boys' room. Nudging open the door, she enters the dark bedroom and quietly whispers for her much more reserved roommate.

"Sasuke?" She says while moving farther into the room. She blindly feels around, but ends up tripping over, what she assumes is, a pair of Naruto's shoes.

"Sas-ah!" She exclaims while hurtling towards the bed. Unfortunately, she lands face first on something hard, but warm. She runs her hands over the peculiar surface, only to realize that it's actually smooth to the touch.

"Sakura," an unamused voice says. "What are you doing laying on top of me?"

Sakura suddenly blinks in shock, realizing that her cheek is pressed flush up against Sasuke's chest. Mortified, she sits up, mouth agape when she notices her legs straddling his waist.

"Listen, I don't care how drunk you are, but you can't just attack someone while they're sleeping." Sasuke says while nudging Sakura off of him, sending her, face ablaze with embarrassment, falling to the floor next to the bed.

"Nonononononono." She says quickly, holding up her hands in defense. "I'm not drunk!"

Sasuke quirks an eyebrow up, "So you attack people in their sleep when you're sober?"

"No!" She exclaims realizing how bad the situation seems. Sasuke glares at her expectantly. "Naruto got really drunk and I tired bringing him home, but he was really heavy and now he's passed out in a field somewhere." She finishes quickly while nervously twiddling her thumbs. Eying the digital clock on the bedside table, she realizes that it's already past 3:00 in the morning and feels guilt gnawing at her stomach for not watching Naruto more carefully.

Sasuke sighs exasperatedly before rising from the bed and pulling a shirt and a pair of sweatpants on over her boxers. "Come on," he says while walking towards the door. "Let's go get him."

* * *

Reaching the edge of the field, Sakura feels her face pale. "Umm..." She stutters.

"Well?" Sasuke says, looking at her expectantly.

"I kind of don't remember where I left him." She says with a nervous smile.

Sasuke lets out a huff while muttering, "You really are annoying."

"Hey! It's not my fault, it's dark and I was running really fast!" She defends herself. Sasuke pulls his phone of his pocket and turns it on. "What are you doing?" Sakura asks in confusion.

"We aren't going to find him in the dark." He says while punching something into his phone and holding it to his ear. Sakura peeks over and notices a multitude of missed calls displayed on his screen.

Suddenly, the song _Kung Fu Fighting_ begins blaring in the distance. The two college students make their way towards the noise and upon getting closer, Sakura holds her phone out like a makeshift flashlight.

There, still sleeping soundly, lies Naruto. Sasuke pinches the bridge of his nose in irritation. "Idiot, he never could hold his liquor."

Sakura eyes the numerous mosquito bites on the blonde's face. "Crap, now we have to take him to the doctor again." She says while leaning forward as if to grab his arms. Sasuke holds out a hand to stop her and proceeds to haul Naruto up until he is draped over his back.

"Uh… Wow, you're pretty strong." Sakura says while eying the usual sight of an annoyed emo guy with and unconscious blonde hanging off his shoulder.

"Well, I'm used to dragging his ass him home singlehandedly, though this is the first time I've retrieved him from a field." He shifts Naruto's weight slightly before heading back to the apartment.

* * *

"You can put him in my bed for tonight." Sakura says, feeling guilty that she had to wake Sasuke up.

"No, he's a puker. I'm gonna set him in the bathroom." Sasuke says while moving to the bathroom that the boys share.

"I'll go get some water."

Sakura enters the kitchen and fills a drinking glass up with some tap water. After stopping in her own bathroom to grab some bug bite cream, she walks across the hall to see Naruto propped up against the toilet while Sasuke wets down a wash cloth.

Setting her retrieved items down on the counter, Sakura moves towards Naruto. "You can go to bed if you want." Sasuke says as he kneels next to the withdrawn blonde.

"No, it's fine." Sakura replies while sitting down on the tiled floor. "I'm the one in medical school." She figures this is the perfect opportunity to figure out why the boys treat each other so brotherly.

_Nothing says heart-to-heart like a late night conversation in the bathroom while nursing somebody back to health. _She thinks to herself.

"Okay," Sasuke says before rising to his feet. "Wake me up if he tries anything." He says before stepping over Sakura and exiting the bathroom.

_Well there goes that plan. _

* * *

After Sakura finishes cleaning the dirt off of Naruto's face and applying the bite ointment, he begins to rouse. Slowly, his eyelids flutter open, revealing his bright cerulean eyes. Upon seeing Sakura, he offers her a toothy grin.

"Hi." He says, slightly dazed. Sakura smiles and gives her head a small shake. "Am I dreaming?" He asks.

"No," Sakura replies with a chuckle, "You're just drunk."

"Drunk on _you._" Naruto retorts.

Sakura lightly hits him on the shoulder. "That was the lamest line I've ever heard."

Naruto reaches a hand up to touch his face, but Sakura grabs his wrist in order to keep him from making contact with the creamy medicine. "My face feels funny."

"You were passed out in a field and became the dinner of a horde of mosquitos." Sakura says while releasing his hand.

"I only passed out from your beauty." Naruto says with a large smile.

Sakura lets out a sigh, "No more parties for you. That line was even worse than the last one."

"I'm fine!" Naruto loudly defends himself. "I just have a little bit of a stomachache… and a headache."

"I'll go get you some Pepto." Sakura begins to stand, but Naruto stops her by grapping her forearm.

"You know what would make me feel even better?" He asks with a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Advil?" Sakura questions.

"No..." He drags out the word like a little kid. "A kiss!" He exclaims while pursing his lips.

"No!" Sakura snaps back.

"Please!" He whines.

"That's it, I'm waking up Sasuke."

"Come on Sakura! It'll help me feel a whole lot better!" His voice rises in excitement.

Sakura considers this for a moment. _He's too drunk to remember this in the morning, besides, he is pretty attractive._ Sakura sighs in defeat. "Fine… one kiss."

"Hold that thought." Naruto says as he turns to the toilet. Leaning his head over, he empties his stomach's contents in a gurgle. Sakura rubs his back comfortingly as he stays keeled over for a little while until he has nothing left to throw up.

Wiping his mouth on his arm Naruto turns back to her and puckers up again. "Okay, now you can kiss me."

"No!" Sakura yells before standing up.

"Come on Sakura-chan!" He begs, "I'll brush my teeth and be good as new!"

The green-eyed girl covers her face with the sleeve of her sweatshirt, the smell of Naruto's stomach contents wafting in her face.

"Goodnight." She says sternly before exiting the bathroom and escaping to her bedroom.

* * *

The next morning, more of the afternoon actually, Sakura makes her way to the kitchen and finds Naruto asleep on the couch. She quietly continues her way to the kitchen and fries up some eggs.

Once her breakfast is ready, she grabs some painkillers from the medicine cabinet, and gently shakes her snoozing roommate's shoulder.

"Naruto." She says in a singsong voice. "Time to wake up, my ramen loving friend."

Drowsy blue eyes look up at her. "Ugh, my head." He groans before attempting to roll over.

"Oh no you don't!" Sakura says. "You kept me up until way early this morning, so I get to wake you up this afternoon." She waves a cupped hand in front of his face. "Besides, I brought you some Advil."

Naruto eyes the red pills almost lustfully before a playful grin appears on his face. "You know what would make me feel even better?"

"I'm not kissing you." Sakura deadpans.

"How did you know I was going to say that?" He exclaims more than asks while sitting up rapidly. The proceeding wince notifies Sakura that he regrets moving so quickly.

"You said the same thing last night." She informs him, taking slight pleasure when his face pales. Absentmindedly, Naruto reaches a hand up to scratch one of the large bumps on his face. "Don't itch them, they'll take longer to heal." Sakura informs him before retrieving a plate from the end table nearby. "I made you some breakfast!" She practically cheers.

The blonde bolts from the couch and sprints to the bathroom. "I think I'm going to be sick!"

Sasuke exits the bedroom in time to be greeted with the sound of gagging.

"Way to make a good first impression." He says expressionlessly to the blonde currently embracing the toilet.

"Well, I don't blame him." Sakura says with a smile. "After all, his first impression of me was an trigger happy idiot with a pepper spray can."

A slight smirk appears on Sasuke's face before he exits the apartment.

Sakura, feeling proud of her accomplishment of getting her far too serious roommate to smile, pulls Naruto from the bathroom and pushes him into the bedroom. "Get dressed!" She shouts. "We're going for coffee!"

* * *

Upon reaching the coffee shop, the two students place their orders and grab a table in the back.

"So… Naruto," Sakura begins, determined to know more about the hyperactive boy in front of her, at the same time wondering if giving him coffee is a good idea. "Sasuke told me about your classes. What exactly do you want to be?"

Naruto looks up at her with wide-eyes, "Somebody important enough to make a real difference." Taken off guard by his answer, Sakura just looks at him seriously. "Have you ever heard about all the gang wars going on in Konoha?"

She nods, wondering where this conversation is going.

"Well, you see, my parents were murdered by a crime lord." He pauses for a moment as if trying to compose himself. "My dad was a high ranking police officer and was determined to bring him down, making my family a target." Sakura gasps, not expecting that at all.

"My uncle took me in, but he was gone a lot," Naruto chuckles quietly. "I guess that's part of the reason why I was such a wild child. Anyways, even with all the evidence the crime lord still got off the hook because the judge and jury were either paid off or threatened." Sakura takes a sip of her latte, intrigued by the story.

"That's the worst part," Naruto says with a sad smile. "My parents' death was just shrugged off. I want to change that. I want to get rid of the corruption and make sure that nobody else has to go through something like that. Everybody deserves closure."

He looks up at Sakura. "Sasuke and my uncle are the only people who really think I can do it, but just you wait, I'll do it and prove to everybody that I'm not just a screw up!" He ends his proclamation with a smile.

"I believe in you, Naruto." Sakura says taking one of his hands in hers.

* * *

"I didn't hear any banging last night," Sakura says while reaching for her keys. "Maybe the ghost went of vacation."

"Yeah or maybe-" Naruto is cut off by a soft _meow_ coming from the vegetation next to their door.

"Hey, look! A cat!" Naruto says before squatting down to look inside a bush. Sakura joins him and finds a scruffy orange cat with large iridescent eyes peering up at them.

"Hey little guy," Sakura says while sticking her hand out. Cautiously, the cat emerges from the shrubbery revealing how skinny it is.

"Ne Sakura-chan, I don't think this cat has an owner." Naruto says finding no collar. "Do you think…" He trails off as if afraid to ask.

The cat rubs it's velvety head in Sakura's outstretched palm, purring at the contact. "I don't mind." She says smiling at their new friend. "What about Sasuke?"

"He won't care!" Naruto exclaims, eagerly picking up the cat. "I'm going to name you Kyuubi!"

"Naruto, is it even a boy?" Sakura asks, slightly shaking her head at the outrageous name.

Awkwardly flipping the animal over, Naruto looks down then quickly looks back up at Sakura. "Yep!"

She opens the front door for Naruto, who now has his hands full. "We'll have to leave the balcony door open until we have a chance to go buy a litter box and some food." Sakura tells the excited blonde.

"What the hell?" Sasuke says from the living room where he was quietly reading a book.

"We have a new friend!" Sakura tells him as the cat jumps from Naruto's hands, eager to meet the raven-haired boy.

"Who said we could have a pet cat?" He grumbles, as the creature begins brushing up against his leg.

"Naruto said you'd be okay with it." Sakura informs him. "Besides, you should like cats, they are a lot like you."

"How so?" He asks, his onyx eyes glaring at the orange ball of fur that is now rolling around next to him on the couch.

"Quiet, intimidating, egos the size of mars. Need I continue?" The pinkette says smartly, before exiting the living room.

Right before she closes the door she hears Naruto chuckle, "She's right, you know."

* * *

"Hey, Dad." Sakura says into the receiver of her phone.

"Hi, honey. How are the roommates?" He asks.

"They're really nice." She replies, "Though they're complete opposites."

"How well do they get along with each other?"

"Really well, they've actually known each other since elementary school." She responds while watching people at the pool from her window.

"I see," Her father says in a slightly serious tone.

"What's wrong?" she asks in confusion.

"Now Sakura," He begins, his voice loaded with parental concern. "I know how females operate and if these girls are making you feel excluded at all, you can tell me. You don't have to put on a brave face for your father."

"These girls…" Sakura repeats slowly. "Oh!" Her eyes widen when she realizes that her dad thinks Sasuke and Naruto are female. Realizing the shit storm that would take place if she tells her father the truth, Sakura decides just to let him think what he wants.

"Don't worry. They're both very nice and I've already become friends with them." She finally says. "Actually, we took in a stray cat today. It's really cute, we named it Kyuubi."

"That's great, Sakura! School is starting soon. Are you nervous at all?"

"Not really, I mean I'll most likely be with similar people from last year. I think a couple of my professors are the same too."

"Well that's good, I'm sorry, honey, I've got to go get ready for my business dinner tonight. We'll talk again soon, okay?"

"Okay!" Sakura says, lying back on her bed.

"Love you, I'll try to come visit soon to meet Kyuubi and your roommates."

The pinkette's face falls at her father's departing words. "D-don't feel rushed, okay?"

"Okay, bye."

"B-bye." When she hears the click that signals the end of the call, Sakura drops her phone on the bed and shuts her eyes. "Crap!"

* * *

**A/N:** _I'm thinking of changing my penname, is there anybody who is extremely opposed to this idea? Just wondering. _

_Please review, even simple ones like "This was funny," are nice to read. _


	7. Unexpected Moments

**A/N: **_Let the fluffiness commence! (About time!)_

* * *

**Apartment 7**

Unexpected Moments

Sakura is in the middle of dreaming of a world made out of cotton candy and littered with sweets when the harsh smell of burning jolts her awake. Rushing to the kitchen, she is met with the sight of a flustered blonde beating out orange flames that had emerged from a pan.

"Naruto, what are you doing!" she yells while scourging the kitchen cabinets for a lid to smother the fire.

"It's an assignment!" he yells as Sakura continues her search. Naruto fills a cup with water and is about to throw it on the flames, but is stopped by a frantic Sakura.

"It's a grease fire!" She yells. "You can't pour water on it!" Just then, a panicked Sasuke enters the kitchen, nearly tripping over the multitude of pans and cooking utensils that are now scattered about the floor.

"Not again!" He exclaims before running back to his room. He returns a moment later with a mini fire extinguisher and begins spraying the angry flames with the white substance. Kyuubi, who had taken shelter under the kitchen table, begins to hiss at Sasuke in fear.

Once the fire is put out and the kitchen is covered in foamy whiteness, Sasuke shoots a glare at Naruto. "You're going to have to drop the cooking class if you want to continue living here."

Sakura can't help but nod in agreement at the statement, the last thing they need is to be out of a house.

"I'll get better at it, I swear!" Sasuke narrows his eyes even more at the blonde's protest. "Fine." Naruto mumbles, "I'll drop out of cooking."

Classes had started and the college students were already feeling the stress of the semester. Naruto and Sakura more so since their nights were plagued with the sounds of their apartment's other, more permanent "resident". Sasuke still refuses to believe them, claiming that he never heard any noises even though his room is closer than Sakura's to the bathrooms and living room.

With a huff, Naruto stands up and walks towards the boys' bedroom, which he had still yet to be able to sleep in.

Sakura looks around at the practically destroyed kitchen. She notes that the cabinets did not sustain any damage, but the pan Naruto was cooking in is beyond wrecked. With a sigh, the med student grabs a fresh trash bag from the drawer and tosses the pan inside of it.

Setting the bag on the ground, she gathers up paper towels and begins wiping down the counter. Sasuke grabs the roll from her hands and joins her in the clean up process.

"Thanks for the help." She says while leaning down to pet the puffed up Kyuubi. Apparently, the cat is not yet used to Naruto's eccentric behavior.

"Hn," Sasuke responds with a slight head nod.

Sakura has noticed her more reserved roommate's habit of omitting words in favor of this one syllabled sound effect. She has yet to figure out what it means causing it to annoy her to no end.

At the look of frustration on the pinkette's face, Sasuke cannot help but smirk slightly. He has determined that Sakura is the type of person that loves to know what's going on in other people's heads twenty-four/ seven, and he knows that the fact she cannot figure him out bothers her.

He must admit though, the way that she crinkles her nose when she is annoyed can be quite cute. Though he would never admit to this fact aloud.

The feeling of sharp claws digging into his socked foot interrupts Sasuke from his train of thoughts. Trying to shake the orange ball of fluff off without hurting it, Sasuke wiggles his foot around. This however, only causes Kyuubi to get more hyped up and cling into Sasuke's, now surely bleeding, foot all the more.

"If we are going to keep this stupid cat, you have to get its claws removed." He tells Sakura through clenched teeth.

The girl, who had just finished clearing off one counter, shoots Sasuke a playful look. "I think you secretly like him."

"Hn." At his response, Sakura frowns and proceeds to throw some of the scattered dishes into the dishwasher.

Her loud clashing is interrupted when Naruto walks in, fully dressed in black slacks and an orange T-shirt. "I'm going to the store to pick up some items for Kyuubi before my trip. Sakura-chan," he says with a smile, "would you like to come with me?"

Looking up from her work, slightly irritated that the one responsible for the mess skipped out, she nods. "Sure, help Sasuke finish cleaning while I go get dressed." She tosses him the roll of paper towels from the countertop before heading back to her bedroom.

* * *

After hearing the audible _click _of Sakura's door closing, Sasuke throws the paper towel he was just using, into the trash bag before exiting the kitchen.

"Teme! Where are you going?" Naruto calls at the retreating boy's back.

"Your mess, your problem." Sasuke responds before closing his own bedroom door, presumably to get changed for his daily jog.

With a huff, Naruto finishes up the cleaning. While he ties the practically full garbage bag, Sakura walks into the kitchen now dressed in denim shorts and a bright red tank top.

"Ready to go?" She asks.

With his usual thousand-watt smile, Naruto toss the black bag over his shoulder and replies, "Of course."

After slipping their shoes on, Sakura grumbling about the stains on her Converse, both students exit the apartment and toss the garbage bag in the dumpster before heading to Naruto's orange pick-up truck.

* * *

The two walk through the aisles of the supermarket whilst pushing a squeaky cart. After picking up some groceries for the week, they make their way over to the pet section.

"So do you think Kyuubi would like to try chicken flavored this time?" Naruto asks while examining the bags of kibble. "Some people say routines are better, but I think he might like the switch up."

"It's worth a shot." Sakura replies while examining the cat toys.

"You'll be sure to take care of him while I'm gone, right?" Naruto asks, sounding as concerned as a parent would be when leaving their child for the first time.

"Of course," She replies before adding, "How long are you going to be gone again?"

"The conference lasts all weekend, to be honest I don't even know why we are having a class trip this early in the year." Naruto answers while absent-mindedly scratching the back of his neck.

"At least your able to get away for a weekend." Sakura says. "I think I'm going to buy this for him," she says, holding up a feathered ball with a bell attached to it.

"He'll love it!" Naruto says, "the Teme however, not so much." He sends her a wicked grin. "Perfect."

Once finished with their shopping, the two students scan their items at the self-checkout.

"Naruto, why are you buying sardine paste? I don't think that's meant for cats." Sakura says, gesturing to the grey tube at the bottom of the cart.

"Oh that isn't for Kyuubi, I'm going to put some in Sasuke's toothpaste." The blonde responds while rubbing his hands like an evil villain.

"How is that even humanly possible?" Sakura asks but only receives a mischievous wink in response.

Sighing in exasperation at her roommate's antics, Sakura scans the item and places it in one of the awaiting plastic bags.

* * *

After saying goodbye to Naruto and wishing him a good trip, Sakura and Sasuke are left alone in the apartment.

The pinkette sits on the living room floor tossing the new cat toy.

"Why did it have to have a bell?" Sasuke asks, lifting his head from a large textbook in time to see Kyuubi chase after the ball only to stumble and run headfirst into a wall.

"Because cats like obnoxious things," Sakura replies while scooping the cat up into her arms in order to smooth it's now ruffled fur.

"You must be its best friend then." Sasuke retorts before returning to his note taking.

Fuming, Sakura throws a pillow at his head only for him to move at the last minute and successfully dodge the attack.

The new house pet, startled by the sudden excitement, scampers off of Sakura's lap and disappears into the boys' room, pausing only to pick up his new toy on the way.

"So, I'm going to make pasta for dinner, and if you're nice to me, maybe I'll let you have some." The pinkette says before standing and entering the kitchen area.

"What kind?" Sasuke calls from the living room.

"Tomato and pesto." Sakura replies with a smirk, knowing the Uchiha has a weakness for them.

Her smiling broadening at the fact that her roommate immediately shut up, she begins getting out the supplies for cooking.

Now, Sakura has been vertically challenged all of her life. Just barely reaching 5'2, she is often referred to as being petite. So while gathering the tools needed to make the pasta and finding out that the colander had somehow gotten placed on the top shelf, she comes up with a simple solution.

Figuring it is no big deal, the only female in the apartment hops up onto the counter in order to reach the item. Right before she can grab the silver strainer, strong arms grip her hips and lift her in the air before gently setting her feet on the tiled floor.

"What are you doing?" She asks Sasuke, who has a highly amused expression on his face.

"Standing on countertops is dangerous," he replies. "We've already had one incident in the kitchen today, we do not need another one."

"It's fine, I climb on counter tops all the time to reach things." At this, Sasuke elegantly raises a thin eyebrow.

"All the time?" He asks in an arrogant tone that makes Sakura what to slap the smirk off his face.

"You know," Sakura begins, pointing a finger in his face. "It's not nice to tease people."

"Hn," Sasuke responds causing the pinkette's green eyes to practically flame in anger. "Whatever you say, shorty."

"That's it!" She snaps. "No pasta for you!"

Despite her words, once the food is prepared, Sakura scoops her roommate up a plate of pasta. He had been studying all day and she fears that he will not eat otherwise.

Naruto's words from a couple weeks ago echo in her mind.

_"He's majorly serious about his studies. He has to take over his family's business the second he graduates." _

Joining her studious roomie on the couch, Sakura begins twirling her pasta. "You know, you should make eating it's own activity, it prevents overeating and allows for relaxation."

"You shouldn't stand on top of things suspended off the ground, it could cause head injuries." He retorts, not looking up from his notebook while taking a bite from his dinner.

The room is silent for a moment, minus the sound of Kyuubi eating his new kibble. Sakura makes a mental note to tell Naruto that he enjoys the new flavor.

Yawning loudly, Sakura stabs a piece of tomato with her fork.

"You should also get more sleep." Sasuke tells her, obviously trying to outdo her in the lecturing front.

"I would love to, if there wasn't a ghost running around the apartment at night." She responds then continues to eat the tomato.

"I don't get why you think it's a ghost of all things." Sasuke looks up at her with his usual expressionless face. "Have you ever thought that it was faulty plumbing?"

"Don't speak to me like I'm a child." She says defensively. "Plumbing doesn't cause items in the kitchen to fly off the walls, and it certainly doesn't shake door handles." She huffs slightly before continuing. "I still can't believe you haven't heard any of it."

With a roll of his eyes, Sasuke returns to studying while Sakura gathers up his plate for him.

She's in the middle of wiping down the counter tops when the sound of gagging from the bathroom the boys share, startles her.

Worrying that her cooking had gotten Sasuke sick, she pours a glass of water and rushes to the bathroom.

There, glaring at his toothbrush as if it bit him, stands a very confused raven-haired law student.

"How the heck does a person put sardine paste into a tube of toothpaste?" He says, mainly talking to himself.

Suppressing a giggle, Sakura sets the glass of water down next to the sink and exits the bathroom, returning to the kitchen.

* * *

_"S-S-Sakura…" _

The ghoulish voice jolts said girl awake. Bolting upright, she turns to face her closet.

"_C-c-can I borrow your shirt?" _The distant voice sounds feminine, but Sakura is too shocked that the ghost actually spoke to dwell on the discovery.

_"S-S-Sakura…"_

With mouth open in shock, Sakura watches in fear, as her closet door swings open, revealing one of her black tank tops floating in the air.

A piercing scream escapes her throat as the pinkette sprints from her room. Still screaming, she swings open the boys' door and shakes Sasuke awake.

"Sakura?" He asks, voice raspy with sleep.

"It's… room… shirt… name!" She pants.

"Calm down and tell me what happened." Sasuke orders, eyebrow furrowed in irritation.

"The ghost is in my room, it was making my shirt float and kept saying my name." She says.

"Sakura. There is no ghost." He responds, adamant about the fact. "You were probably just having a nightmare."

"I was not having a fucking nightmare!" She roars, fists clenched in anger. "There is a ghost in this fucking apartment and you are pissing me off for not believing me! I'm not a child that makes up fairy tales for attention!" Her yelling is cut off when a mist begins to waft under the door.

_"S-S-Sakura…" _Wide-eyed and pale-faced, Sakura turns to Sasuke.

"Holy shit." Sasuke says as the mist begins curling towards them.

Scooting back until she leans against the far wall, Sakura watches in horror as the mist curls around her ankle.

"Oh my god!" She screams, her usually curse-free vocabulary taking a turn for the worse. Kicking her feet, she manages to dispel the white fog.

After locking the bedroom door, Sasuke slides down the wall and sits next to Sakura.

"Do you really think a deadbolt is going to stop a ghost?" She asks skeptically.

"I don't know," he snaps in aggravation. "I've never really had a ghost as a roommate before."

"Why do you always act like that?" Sakura says, her voice hinting at her own irritation.

"Act like what?"

"You're either pissy or tormenting me! What's your problem?" She says, not entirely sure why she's lashing out now. Blame it on the stress of almost being attacked by a ghost.

"This is the second time you've woken me up at three in the morning, how do you want me to react?" He asks, his nostrils flaring slightly.

"I don't know? Did you not just see what happened! Try to be a little more sympathetic!" She replies, arms flailing slightly.

"Hn." Sasuke grunts before turning away.

"And what the fuck does that mean?" She exclaims exasperated.

"Hn."

Sakura doesn't know how to respond so she settles for glaring at the Uchiha while growling under her breath.

"You're acting like Naruto." He says, voice flat.

"At least he has some human emotions!" She exclaims, admittedly, Sakura doesn't have that big of a problem with her dark-haired roommate, but the lack of sleep has finally gotten to her and is causing her to lash out at the simplest things.

"Hn."

Sakura's eye twitches in annoyance and her nose crinkles in aggravation. "Quit it!"

Sasuke turns to her, "Hn."

"Sasuke, I swear to god."

Sasuke leans in closer, having too much fun watching his roommate getting flustered to stop now. "Hn."

Sakura, who had been facing forward, refusing to look at the arrogant prick, turns her head to the side, shocked at how close his face is to hers.

She takes in his appearance, illuminated solely by the moonlight coming in through the blinds. His alabaster skin practically glows in the silvery light, causing his inky colored hair to contrast in a way that makes a funny feeling stir up in the pit of Sakura's stomach.

Her eyes flit over his facial features. His dark eyes practically dance in amusement, something that Sakura had yet to see. Slowly her gaze travels down to his aristocratic nose until coming to rest upon his thin lips.

Sakura finds herself licking her own lips subconsciously and Sasuke's eyes dart down and watch the pink muscle to moisten her full mouth, his expression sobering.

Slowly he leans in towards her, taking satisfaction in the way she tilts her head expectantly. Soon enough, they are only millimeters away, the feeling of each other breath fanning against the other's face. Luckily, Sasuke had borrowed Sakura's toothpaste so his breath still contains a lingering smell of mintiness.

Before their lips can touch, the sound of hissing comes from the hallway.

"Kyuubi!" Sakura cries out while scampering away from her roommate, remembering that she had left the cat in her hurry to escape her bedroom. She slightly blushes realizing what almost transpired between Sasuke and herself.

Without saying a word, said man rushes to the door and darts into the hallway. A second later he returns with the puffed up orange cat in his arms. When he slams the bedroom door shut, Kyuubi slithers out of his grasp and curls up in Sakura's lap.

Despite what has happened, Sakura can't help the smirk that appears on her face.

"What?" Sasuke asks, his tone bordering irritation again.

"I knew you secretly liked him."

* * *

**A/N: **_The name has been changed! If you want to know the story as to why I changed it and the meaning behind it, you can check out my Livejournal._

_Some people have messaged me about my writing style and how I tend to switch between American sayings and vocabulary to British. I'm sorry if this confuses anybody, but living in Germany has caused me to pick up a different speaking/writing habits that mix the two styles together._

_To clear up any confusion, when I say college in this story I am referring to __**American University,**__ not the high school-type schooling that other parts of the world refer to as college. :) Just thought I'd clarify that incase anybody had them mixed up._

_Oh and also, I don't care what the Microsoft Word dictionary says," mintiness" is totally a word. _


	8. Aftermath

**A/N: **_Ahh! Sorry it's been so long. I finished Unhinged and have been working on a new story and school started so I've been finishing up my extended essay and then I started watching Dangan Ronpa (Amazing show by the way). And yeah… so I'm sorry about the delay, and that atrocious run-on sentence._

_On the other hand, thanks so much everybody for your fabulous reviews! You're awesome! _

* * *

**Apartment 7**

Aftermath

The sound of birds chirping rouses Sakura from her sleep. With a groan of annoyance, she intertwines her fingers and raises her arms over her head in order to stretch her back. Unclasping her hands, she rotates them causing each wrist to pop. Repeating the process with her ankles, she hears the loud cracking of her joints.

"I don't think your body's suppose to make noises like that, you might want to get it checked out."

The voice causes Sakura to freeze. Hesitantly, she opens her eyes and turns her head. There, with his eyes still closed and hair perfect, lies Sasuke, an amused expression on his face.

Looking down, Sakura finds herself wrapped up in a cocoon of black sheets that definitely aren't hers.

Panicked by waking up next to her serious roommate, Sakura begins kicking off the coverings as if they were poisoned. The action of flailing her limbs around causes Sakura to fall out of the bed and onto the hard floor with an audible _thump._

Kyuubi, who had been cuddled up in between the two college students, hisses in protest.

"You're a blanket hog." Sasuke mentions before grabbing one of the abandoned sheets and wrapping it around himself.

With a nervous chuckle, Sakura stands up and slips out of the boys' bedroom. Mentally berating herself for her creaky bones and lack of grace in the process.

_Oh my gosh! I slept with Uchiha Sasuke… well I didn't _sleep _with him in that sense, but I slept with him... _

Hesitantly, she opens her bedroom door and peaks inside. Her room seems to be in the same order as she left it. The pillows and blankets that were on her bed now lie on her floor from when she had sprinted out of her bed, the only difference is the lacey black top lying on the ground in front of her closet door.

Eying the piece of clothing as if it were about to bite her, Sakura jumps over it and lands safely on the bed. After surrounding herself with pillows in a fort-like style, the med student takes a moment to compose her thoughts.

_Now it's definitely been confirmed that there's a ghost haunting this place, but it appears to be targeting me! _If she had been speaking aloud, Sakura's voice would be shaking in hysterics. _I have that huge biology exam in two days and I think something weird may or may not have taken place last night had Kyuubi not interrupted. _

_Shit… last night. _She cringes at the thought. _I acted like a complete asshole towards Sasuke. He probably thinks I'm on my freaking period or something. _

She could have gone on thinking of every embarrassing thing that had ever happened to her for the rest of the day, and probably would have if her empty stomach had not protested.

With a groan she exits her room, jumping over the "ghost shirt" on her way, and heads towards the kitchen from where the smell of eggs and bacon gently wafts. Upon turning the corner she finds Sasuke scooping his breakfast out of a nonstick pan that Naruto had yet to get his hands on.

"There's some extra bacon if you want some." He says casually before pouring himself a cup of coffee and sitting at the breakfast table.

With a small, slightly nervous smile, Sakura thanks her roommate and collects the few pieces of bacon. After putting together a bowl of cereal, she joins Sasuke at the table.

Due to the fact that his nose is once again buried in a large textbook, Sakura takes advantage of the silent meal to assess her thoughts.

_He isn't treating it like a big deal so neither should I, _she reasons. _We just fell asleep… in the same bed… after almost kissing. _Her face burns a bright crimson at the memory of how she acted. _I acted like a psycho bitch and he just shrugged me off… And what was with this morning? _

Remembering her tendency to talk in her sleep, Sakura becomes even more embarrassed. _What if I said something last night? What if it was something really humiliating? _

Regaining her composure, Sakura casually munches on a piece of bacon while praising Sasuke's frying skills.

"So…" She begins, taking a longer than necessary pause.

"So?" Sasuke says in his cool tone.

"Did I like… I don't know… say anything last night?" She asks while trying to sound nonchalant. Raising her head from her plate, she notices the same amused smirk as this morning's on his face.

"Perhaps." He says before standing up from the table.

"What do you mean 'perhaps'?" Sakura exclaims as he begins to walk away.

"I'm going for a run." He responds before slipping on his trainers and shutting the front door, abruptly cutting off the protests of the pinkette.

* * *

Smirking to himself, Sasuke remember the interesting night her shared with his female roommate. All throughout the night she had mumbled nonsense, most of which talked about a world filled with chocolate covered strawberries and rainbows.

One particular thing she said had interested him, though it is not as embarrassing as she most likely assumes right about now. They do say that the unknown can be the most fearful thing.

He has to admit, he loves seeing Sakura squirm in discomfort. He will have to make the most out of the next two days until Naruto gets back from his trip.

Sasuke's thoughts get interrupted when his cell phone begins to vibrate. Instantly his smirk vanishes and is replaced with a disgruntled scowl.

Angrily, he presses the ignore button and picks up his pace.

* * *

After taking a shower and changing into fresh clothes, Sasuke finds himself sitting on the couch, elbow deep in thick textbooks and notes. When it gets to the point that he feels his brain about to burst, he pinches the bridge of his nose and leans backwards.

The ugly couch that had come with the apartment is short enough for him to lean his neck back comfortably. With a deep breath he relaxes further into the upholstery.

He only lifts his head when the sound of footsteps alerts him to his female roommate's presence.

"I'm sorry about the way I acted last night." Sakura says her head slightly hung in shame.

"Forget about it." Sasuke senses her embarrassment and would rather forget the whole situation himself. He is still is not quite sure what had happened… or almost happened.

"Do you maybe want to go get coffee?" She offers. "My treat."

"No," Sasuke says, but at the look of rejection on her face quickly adds, "I have a lot of studying to do, but maybe we can go to the pool in a little bit."

Looking up excitedly, Sakura quickly nods her head in agreement. "Okay," she chirps before heading to the kitchen, presumably to get a snack.

"Oh and Sakura?" He adds, remembering her earlier question about talking in her sleep.

"Hm?" She makes a questioning noise and pokes her head out to look at him again.

"Yes, my hair is always perfect." Sasuke says with a wicked smile, but suppresses the laugh at the sight of her face burning a shade of pink that rivals her hair.

* * *

"Could you be a dear and bring me another daiquiri?" the blonde asks her newest stalker before handing him her empty glass.

With a quick "Yes ma'am," the freshman scurries off, allowing Ino some peace and quiet.

After adjusting her pool chair to lay flat, she gracefully situates herself so that she lies on her stomach. Reaching back, she unties her purple bikini top and rests her cheek down with a sigh of relief.

The past two weeks, the cosmetologist had been devising a plan in order to get Sasuke to ask her out. Call her immature, but when it comes to boys, the bombshell intends to get whomever she lays her sights on.

_The KU camping trip is the perfect place to set my plan in action, now all I need is an opportunity to ask Sasuke to come. But knowing him, there's probably no way he'll actually go. Maybe if I invite Sakura while he's around her, she'll persuade him to go, after all, he doesn't seem to hate her. I need to use their relationship to my advantage; I just hope it doesn't backfire. _

"Miss Yamanaka, your drink." Irritated at her plotting being interrupted, Ino scowls slightly before propping herself up on her elbows. The scowl immediately transforms into a smile when eyes the cocktail glass of red alcoholic liquid.

"Set it on that table." She orders, thanking the universe that there's such a thing as willing slaves, aka 'fanboys'. Figuring he deserves a reward for keeping her in constant supply of her favorite summer drink, Ino points to the brown bottle sitting on the ground below her. "Would you do me a favor and rub some tanning oil on my back?"

A large smile appears on the boy's face, and Ino can't help but admire his perfect teeth. At the feel of strong hands kneading into her back, the blonde continues her scheming.

_Now, what to do with that Karin chick? _Ino ponders this while taking a contemplative sip of daiquiri. _I need to hook her up with somebody to get her creepy crimson eyes off of _my _Sasuke. Who would go for it though? _

Scanning the pool area, she eyes the usual slew of the complex's residents. Nobody in particular catches her eye, until she spies a boy breaking the surface of the pool water. His chin-length hair gleams pure white in the bright sun and his purple eyes have a glint of mischief in them.

_Oh right, that's marine biology boy. I can see him going for redheads. I should corner him later. _Looking around the pool again, she notices _her _Sasuke sitting in a chair next to Sakura.

_Perfect timing. _She thinks before tying her suit back up.

* * *

"So yeah, he's totally creepy and always carries scalpels around as if he's going to kill somebody." Sakura finishes telling Sasuke about one of her spectacled classmates.

"I recommend keeping your pepper spray handy." Sasuke says in his usual monotone.

"Hey guys!" A cheery voice interrupts the couple.

"Ino! How are you doing?" Sakura asks her friend.

"Oh you know… the usual." She replies before fluffing her long blonde hair, which hangs free opposed to its usual ponytail. "Anyways, I came over here to see if you guys are going on the KU camping trip?"

"Oh yeah! That's the trip where everybody backpacks to the top of Hokage Mountain and is supposed to be really fun." The pinkette says enthusiastically. "I always wanted to go but couldn't last year. What about you Sasuke?"

The law student's replies with a "Hn," eliciting a twitch from his companion.

"That's the one," Ino says before discreetly pushing her chest out a little more. "If you're going, we should totally share a tent, Sakura."

"Sasuke, we should go!" the green-eyed girl chirps. "It'd be so much fun, there's a concert and everybody puts together a giant breakfast buffet thing."

"I don't really do parties." Sasuke responds. "Besides," he turns to look at Ino, "you don't even go to Konoha University, so why are you going on the trip?"

"I never pass up a chance to party," The blonde replies while winking at Sasuke with one of her ocean blue eyes.

"It's sophomore year! You might as well do something fun with the college before all the schoolwork gets even harder." Sakura argues, punching her roommate playfully in the arm.

"Hn."

The med student is about to make a scene in front of the entire complex about his constant use of the sound effect, but is stopped when she eyes yet another game of chicken taking place in the pool.

"What is with everybody playing chicken?" She asks Ino.

"It's the contest," Ino replies before pointing to a large chalkboard hanging on the outside of the clubhouse. "That's the score board, any couple can add their names and whoever has the most tally marks by the end of the pool season gets the coveted party chest."

"Sounds lame." Sasuke says before closing his eyes and leaning back in his chair.

"What's the party chest?" Sakura asks enthusiastically, ignoring her roommate's rudeness.

Ino sits on the edge of Sakura's chair, obviously getting into the excitement. "Well, whenever something is left behind at a party held at the complex, the host locks it in the party chest, never to be seen again until the end of summer." Ino points at a wooden box resembling a treasure chest, "So if you win the competition, you never know what you're going to get."

"That sounds like fun." Sakura says before turning to the raven-haired man next to her. "We should sign up!"

Ino's look of horror goes unnoticed by either of the college students, as Sasuke's phone rings.

With a twitch of his eyebrows and a mutter of "I'll be back", he picks up the phone and walks away.

Sakura watches his retreating figure with a sense of unease.

_Whoever keeps calling him must not be on his good side. _

* * *

**A/N: **_This might just be me being picky, but I feel like I make them eat a lot… oh well, they're anime characters, they can afford the extra calories. _

_ This is sorta a filler chapter, but I felt that I should get the explanation of some things out of the way. So this camping trip sounds interesting… and what is exactly Ino's Nab Sasuke Plan? Hmmm… the answers and more to come in future chapters!_

_ Don't forget to review! _


	9. And So It Begins

**Apartment 7**

And So It Begins

"So why exactly are you lying on the ground?" An unamused voice asks.

"It's a studying technique." Sakura replies, her voice laced with irritation.

"How does laying on the grungy living room floor with your limbs spread-eagle help you study?" Sasuke asks while quirking an eyebrow giving him an overall skeptical look.

"For your information, it helps with blood flow which in turn allows you to be more refreshed before studying." The med student says while peering up at her confused roommate.

"That's a load of bullshit and you look like an idiot." He says before cautiously stepping over one of her legs.

"Hey, wait!" Sakura calls from the ground. "Help me up!"

With a sigh of annoyance, the law student moves so that he stands in front of the pink-haired girl who holds her arms up expectantly.

Firmly, he grabs her hands and pulls her up. However, the med student is lighter than he imagined and she flies up with enough momentum to knock him on his back.

Lifting her head up, Sakura realizes that she's lying on top of Sasuke, their noses touching. "Um…" She begins to stutter before her gaze moves to his lips. Slowly her eyes slip shut as she leans towards-

"I'm home!" A loud voice calls followed by the slam of the front door. Sakura's eyes fly open as she scrambles to get off of Sasuke.

Unfortunately, the third resident of the apartment walks in to see his two roommates sprawled on top of each other. His smiling face falls at the sight.

"No!" He calls out before dramatically falling to his knees. "How could you?" He puts his forehead to the floor and begins punching it in desperation. "I leave for one weekend and this happens!"

With a scoff, Sasuke lightly pushes Sakura off of him before settling in the spot on the couch he claimed as his. "Shut up, Dobe."

Sakura shoots him a glare before moving over to the blonde. "Naruto, honey, it's not what you think. He was just helping me up and we fell over." She begins rubbing his back comfortingly. "You know what, there's a camping trip coming up. Do you want to go with us?" She asks, trying to get his mind off of the embarrassing scene he just witnessed.

"Can I share a tent with you, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asks earning another glare from the Uchiha.

"I'm actually planning on sharing a tent with Ino."

"What about you, Sasuke? Want to share a tent?" The blonde says, getting over his dramatic spell.

"No way in hell. Buy your own tent."

"Gosh! Why do you have to be such a bastard?" Naruto cries out.

"Why do you have to act like a child?" Sasuke shoots back.

"This is why-" Naruto's cut off when a loud ringing comes from the bedroom. Quickly, Sasuke stands from the couch and makes his way back to the room. Naruto also rises, but heads to the kitchen instead.

"Ne, Naruto?" Sakura begins as she watches Sasuke's retreating back. "Do you know what's up with his phone?"

Confused cerulean eyes turn to her. "What do you mean?" He asks before drinking from a milk carton.

"Well, he keeps getting these calls and he acts really secretive about them." At this, Naruto sets the carton down slowly.

"Really?"

"Yeah, his phone's been ringing practically non-stop."

The blonde shrugs his shoulders. "It's probably nothing."

Sakura drops the subject, but can't ignore the feeling of unease that settles over her.

* * *

"What movie is this?" Sasuke asks.

"It's called _Sucker Punch._" Sakura replies.

"It reminds me of porn," Naruto says earning strange stares from his roommates. "The story doesn't really make sense and it's filled with girls in very little clothing."

The three had decided to have a movie night at Sakura's suggestion and currently sit in the living room with bowls of popcorn.

"I'm not even going to dignify that with a response." Sasuke says before adding, "but you do have a point."

"You guys are impossible," Sakura says exasperatedly. "It's obvious that she's thought up this world in order to escape her harsh reality and you have to decide for yourself whether you think she's crazy or not."

"What's with the mechanical Nazis?" Sasuke asks.

"I think I'm going to be sick." Naruto says.

"I'm with Naruto on this one," the other boy adds, "This is weird."

Sakura crosses her arms in a mock pout at the boys dissing of her favorite movie, while Naruto stands up and darts to the bathroom. "Uh, Naruto?"

"I wasn't joking!" He yells followed by gagging noises.

"Not again," Sasuke exhales. "I'll get the water."

Sakura rolls her eyes at both of her roommates' behavior before making her way to the bathroom.

"Naruto?" She asks.

"Don't come in here Sakura-chan, it's gross."

"What'd you eat?" She calls from the other side of the door.

"Just some ramen." She hears him say.

"Anything else?"

"Well, I drank some milk."

"That's your problem." A stern voice says from behind Sakura causing her to jump in surprise. "Your milk expired four days ago." Sasuke says before sidestepping Sakura and entering the bathroom. "Here's some water."

Figuring she can help, Sakura goes to enter the bathroom, but is stopped by Sasuke's hand pushing her backwards.

"Trust me, you don't want to go in there. This is nothing compared to the night he was drunk."

"Stop mentioning that!" Naruto yells from the bathroom.

"You're not living it down." Sasuke calls back before turning to his other roommate. "Can I shower in your bathroom?"

"Uh," Sakura stutters realizing how his hand is still on her shoulder. He seems to notice as well because he quickly removes it. "Y-yeah, go ahead."

"Thanks." After he shuts the door, Sakura hears him yelling. "Why do you have so much soap in here?"

"They smell good." She calls back with a small smile, "Don't touch the body scrub, it's expensive."

Even through the door and sound of running water, she hears Sasuke's reply of "Hn."

Slightly irritated, she goes to the living room in order to finish her movie.

* * *

Later that night as she lies in bed waiting for sleep to come, Sakura overhears her roommates conversing.

"Hey, Dobe, you feeling better?"

This causes her to immediately listen in. After all, it is strange to hear her emotionless roommate being caring, especially towards Naruto.

"Yeah, I think I'm alright now." Naruto replies softly. "Sakura told me that your phone keeps ringing."

"What about it?" Sasuke snaps, obviously not wanting to talk about the subject.

"Is it him?"

Silence is the only response that Naruto gets.

"You know, he might be trying to get in touch to apologize to you." He reasons, his voice unusually serious.

"Naruto, he ruined my life!" Sasuke yells causing Sakura to quietly gasp. _That explains why he's always angry when the phone rings._ "He's selfish and manipulative, and probably just wants money or something."

"Sasuke, he's your family. You need to at least talk to him."

"I'm not having this conversation." Sakura hears him say followed by the slamming of a door.

All that night and throughout the next day, Sakura finds herself wondering about what Sasuke could possibly be talking about.

Naruto had said something about the dark-haired boy having a difficult past, but Sakura is still in the dark as to what that implies. All during her biology exam, she finds herself focusing on outrageous possibilities of what could have possibly happened. She considers everything from witness protection to alien abduction.

_That would explain why he's always so emotionless. _She quickly snaps out of it though and begins focusing on her test questions. 

Throughout the week a new tension snuck its way into the apartment. Sasuke would stay in his room most of the time and she would notice Naruto sulking on the couch. Figuring it best to stay out of it, Sakura would spend the nights in her own room, counting down the days until the camping trip.

* * *

"Okay everybody," Tenten shouts over the crowd of eager college students. "We'll be hiking all the way to the top of Hokage Mountain where there will be a band as well as some kegs. It's a long way to the top and you'll have to sent up camp once you get there, so try not to get too wasted on the hike."

At her words, the crowd of students begin shouldering their backpacks and passing around bottles. The brunette mutters a "Why do I even bother?" Before producing her own bottle of schnapps.

Sakura picks up her red pack and begins tightening the straps when Kiba passes her a plastic bottle. "Hey, want some orange juice?"

"Is it spiked?" She asks suspiciously.

"Of course," he replies with a wink.

Giving him a smile, she takes a large swig from the bottle before starting to walk up the hill. As they walk, they engage in some small talk and continue drinking. Eventually it gets to the point where Sakura begins tripping over her own feet.

"Wow, what did you put in that?" She asks while trying to focus on the path in front of her.

"Vodka and maybe a pinch of tequila." Kiba replies.

"Shit, I hope Ino doesn't get made that I got drunk before setting up the tent." Sakura tells Kiba.

"I wouldn't be too worried," He points to a blonde girl currently receiving a piggy back ride from a, rather large, boy.

With a laugh, Sakura turns her attention back to her walking buddy, "I have a feeling that our tent might not get set up."

"That's okay," Kiba says with a wink, "You can always share with me."

The sound of somebody clearing their throat prevents Sakura from responding.

"Pass me that," Sasuke says as he gestures to the bottle. Happily, Sakura hands it off and watches as her roommate practically chugs the remaining contents.

"You're drinking?" Naruto asks apprehensively as he takes a sip from his own bottle.

"Got a problem, pukey?" The raven-haired boy snaps back.

"No, just take it easy," the blonde replies warily before starting up a separate conversation with Kiba.

"Hey, Sasuke? Are you okay?" Sakura asks while tucking a stray lock of pink hair behind her ear.

"Never better." The law student says in a flat tone. Before taking accepting another bottle that is being passed.

Sakura's about to stop him when the path evens out and she finds herself looking at a large clearing.

"This is going to be fun."

* * *

**A/N: **_I am not a med student. I do not know whether or not lying on the floor actually helps with circulation, so yeah… Don't lay on the floor and expect better grades. :) _

_Next chapter will be the start of the camping trip!_


End file.
